Dreams Can Come True
by transmutejun
Summary: A fluffy IF written primarily by myself and Clouddancer, although it was begun by Ebonyswanne. Strictly for those who believe in silly daydreams!
1. Chapter 1

_This one is something different. It started off as a silly IF idea about a high school daydream. But then somewhere around Chapter 3 it began to actually develop a plot, and took off for parts we had never imagined when it began._

_Of course, what this fic really should be classified as is the ultimate teenage fantasy, So let Summer be your Mary Sue, and join us for the ride as we show that even in the BOTP universe, Dreams Can Come True…_

88888

Chapter 1

A young Summer was sitting in her high school math class, bored to tears. She looked around the room at the boys in the room and was not all that impressed. They were just immature boys after all, and not even a cute one among them!

But then someone new entered the room: a handsome young man with scruffy dark brown hair that a girl would just love to run her fingers through. His muscles molded against his number 1 T-shirt, and he wore tight clean white jeans.

"Sorry I'm late, I was called away by my father on an emergency." He gave the teacher an apologetic smile.

"I'll forgive you this time, because you're new." the boring math teacher told the young man. The new boy nodded as he looked for a seat.

All of the girls in the room started to give him flirty looks and smiles, but he wasn't paying them any attention. Summer shyly looked down at her math problems as she realized that the only empty seat left in the classroom was right next to her.

His startling blue eyes met hers, and he headed straight toward her and sat down. He leaned over close to her and whispered...

"Miss Summer!" the teacher called out, jolting Summer out of the daydream.

Summer looked up from the page in her textbook that she had been staring at and she sighed. She had written down the name 'Mark' and then she had given him a few different surnames since in her favorite TV show he didn't have a last name. Her daydream had been shaping up really well and that damned teacher had made her snap out of it.

She began to wonder what he had been going to ask her when the bell went off to signal the end of class. She took her time picking up her books, which made her the last to leave the room. As Summer walked out the door she couldn't believe her eyes. Just up ahead in the corridor she spotted a young man a little taller than she was. He had shaggy dark brown hair and a red T-shirt with blue sleeves and he was wearing white jeans.

Summer was stunned, but she made herself move and she hastened to catch up with him. Maybe he was real after all…

But the more Summer kept rushing through the crowd, the further away he seemed to get. Summer ran faster and faster, and suddenly there she was, right next to him!

Shyly, she tapped his shoulder. He turned around, a sparkling pair of bright blue eyes staring at her.

"Uh... hi..." Summer stuttered.

"Hi." he smiled kindly. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"Yes." Summer blushed. "I sit next to you in math class. Do..." she thought of an excuse for talking to him on the spot. "Do you have the homework assignment? I forgot to write it down."

"I'm afraid I don't." he shrugged.

"Then you can both be in detention together." said another voice. Summer looked up to see a roguishly handsome boy in a similar t-shirt with the number 2 on it. "Isn't that what they do to kids who don't do their homework?"

Summer sighed... detention... with this handsome new boy…

The boy gave his friend a playful punch in the shoulder as both the boys looked at her.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother!" he told her. "So, what's your name? I was going to ask you, but you looked be off in some other place. Not that the class was very interesting to begin with." The new boy continued to watch her with those sparkling blue eyes that made her heart race.

"What do you mean don't pay me any attention?" His brother smoothly smiled at Summer. "Do you want to go to the cafeteria, I'll buy you lunch?"

"I'm Summer!" Summer said quickly, before she lost her nerve. "Nice to meet you..."

"Mark." said the man of her dreams. "My name is Mark."

"Nice to meet you, Mark." she said shyly, blushing as red as her hair as he took her hand to shake it.

"It looks like I'm out of luck on this one." Mark's brother shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to ask if you have a friend, Summer?"

"Miss Summer!" The dragon that ran the English class slammed her wooden ruler on Summer's desk so hard it made her jump and scatter her books.

"Ah, yes Miss Dragon...oh, I mean... ah, Mrs. Gunner." Summer snapped to attention." Oh, the poem I was supposed to be reading." She fumbled as she leaned down to pick up her books. That daydream was just getting good, she mused as she looked under her desk, Her eyes met with Mark's as he helped her pick up the book she had knocked off.

He winked and gave her a knowing smile.

"Don't worry, I know she's a Dragon too. So do want to go out on date with me this Friday night?" he asked her as she took the book out of his hands. How could she resist that smile he was giving her? She just wanted to run her fingers over those tight chest muscles she could see outlined by his tight fitting T-shirt. She wondered if she could hold on until Friday...

"Sure." was all she managed to say as the teacher rapped her ruler on the desk again. "Summer, you and Mark are on detention today after school." She ordered like a drill sergeant on a power trip.

Summer finally sat up and brushed back some of the red curls that had fallen over her face. She went to smile at Mark but he was gone. She sighed. Maybe he really was just a daydream.

Summer sat at her desk in her English class trying to shake the cobwebs out of her mind. He had to be real! After all, she had caught up with him in the hallway hadn't she?

And he had asked her out on Friday night! But then it could be just her mind playing tricks on her…

"Mark." She muttered out loud as she looked down at the poem she was supposed to be reading.

"Mark Anderson! I don't know why he had to run out like he did. But it is inexcusable!" She heard Mrs. Gunner whisper to another teacher as she stood at the door.

"But that rude boy and that other kid Jason with the bad temper were expelled for skipping too many classes at their last school." the other teacher gossiped. "We'll talk about their lack of attendance further in the staff room."

Summer's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Mark's name, so he was real after all and not a daydream! So he might be meeting her for lunch after this class in the cafeteria after all! She felt like singing and dancing. She couldn't wait until Friday night, either.

But when she flicked back through her book she noticed a piece of paper had been slipped inside it next to a love poem. It was a note from Mark.

_Summer,_

_I'm sorry I have to miss lunch today. Something urgent came up. But I am really looking forward to seeing you on Friday._

_Mark_

Summer clutched the note to her chest, swooning at the thought of Mark 'looking forward' to their date. Even the knowledge that he wouldn't be there for lunch was not enough to dampen her spirits.

"Summer!" shouted the teacher. "That's it! You have two hours of detention this afternoon!"

Summer didn't care. She had Mark's note to keep her company.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That afternoon, Summer walked down the hallway to detention. It wasn't where she wanted to be, but it was worth it. She sat down at a desk, dreamily thinking about Mark.

About thirty minutes into her detention, the door opened and two young men walked in.

It was Mark, and his brother in the Number 2 shirt.

"Names?" asked the monitor in a bored tone.

"Mark and Jason Anderson." Mark replied.

"You're late."

"We got held up." the boy named Jason smirked.

"Too bad." the monitor sneered. "Sit."

"Talk about being drunk with power!" Jason rolled his eyes.

"I heard that!" the monitor shouted angrily.

"You want an award?" Jason snickered, but only Mark appeared to hear that.

And Summer. The two boys were approaching the desk at which she sat.

"Hey, if I'd known there were hot chicks in detention, I would have come sooner!" Jason grinned, sliding into the seat next to Summer.

"Nice to see you." Mark smiled softly.

"Same here." Summer grinned. "What are you in for?"

"Cutting class." Mark rolled his eyes. "It was an emergency, but they wouldn't believe me when I told them my father called us."

"Why did he call you?" Summer asked.

"He needs help with his 'business'." Jason grinned. "So, Summer, what are you in for?"

"I read your note in class and got caught." Summer admitted, her eyes darting over toward Mark.

"A note? Wow, Mark, you're a regular Casanova!" Jason laughed.

"Silence!" shouted the monitor.

"We have to get him, good." Jason plotted. "What do you guys say?"

Then a pretty young girl entered the room. She possessed hair so black that it had green highlights to match her sparkling green eyes. She reminded Summer of Snow White, except that her pretty green eyes darkened when they fell on Mark and Jason. They went a shade even deeper and she pursed her lips as she looked at Summer flirting with the boys.

"Name?" The moderator asked as the new girl continued to glare at them.

"Princess." She told him bluntly, while she continued to throw daggers with her green eyes.

"Real name." He rolled his eyes. "Your _real_ name..."

"That _is_ her real name, idiot." Jason called out to him as he grinned at Prin. "He's firing on all thrusters today Mark."

But Mark was too occupied with Summer to hear him.

"Hi, Princess." Jason grinned at the newcomer. "What are you here for?"

"I've come to get you guys out of here." she said. "We're needed... 'at home'."

"Oh." Summer's face fell. "I guess, I'll see you later then, Mark."

"You can count on it." he smiled, before the three young people left the room together.

"By the way..." Mark looked back over his shoulder as the three of them reached the door.

"Don't mind Princess, she's just thinks you're after Jason." Mark gave Summer a reassuring smile and wink as he was dragged out the door. Then Summer heard a distinct "Ouch! What was that for?" from Mark outside the room.

"You know exactly what that was for Mark."

"Jason, I don't understand." Summer heard Mark imploring as the voices became more distant.

"Bro, you don't have to." Jason responded.

Summer sighed contently. Mark definitely wanted to take her out on a date, so what was his sister's problem?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was Friday, and Summer was nervous. She had barely seen Mark in school all week, and the couple of times he had appeared he had looked tired and worn out. She was half afraid that their date might be canceled, because he was too busy or too tired.

Still, she got dressed in her favorite outfit. It was slightly clingy and the color made her eyes glow from within. She just hoped that she would see Mark today to finalize plans for their date.

All day in school, and at lunch, she looked for Mark, or Jason, or Princess.

But none of them were there.

As the last bell rang, Summer sighed unhappily. Where had Mark gone? Perhaps he hadn't really been interested after all...

"Hi." said a warm voice in her ear.

"Mark!" Summer cried happily, turning to see him standing behind her.

"Sorry I missed you today." Mark said. "But I was hoping that we could still go out."

"I'd love that." Summer blushed.

"I'll pick you up tonight, then?" Mark asked.

Summer nodded, eagerly scribbling down her address for him.

Only a couple of hours later, she was putting the finishing touches on her make up and running her fingers through her carefully styled red curls to put the ones that had not been co-operative back into place.

Then she heard the doorbell, and her father opening it. She heard the soft sounds from downstairs as Mark politely introduced himself. She tried desperately to squash the butterflies that were now loose in her stomach as she moved out of her room to stand at the top of the stairs.

He looked up and then their eyes met. Neither of them said a word as they walked out the front door and down the path to the street.

"Uh..." Mark stuttered, not certain what to say to the vision before him. "Is it okay if we walk? My car's kind of broken down. I was hoping to borrow Jason's, but he's taking Princess out tonight."

"Isn't Princess your sister?" Summer asked, confused.

"Well, _foster sister_." Mark explained. "None of us are actually related."

"Oh." Summer digested this information for a moment, then looked around.

"It's a beautiful night." she said. "If a touch chilly."

"Oh, gosh." Mark seemed embarrassed. "I hadn't realized you'd be cold. Here."

He put his arm around Summer, pulling her next to his body.

"Is that better?" he asked solicitously.

"Much..." Summer sighed dreamily.

Summer floated all the way to restaurant he had booked. It was a small family owned establishment that served dishes from all over the world.

Mark still kept his arm around her shoulder while they waited to be seated. He leaned in close to her and she could feel the warm touch of his breath as he whispered.

"Summer you look not just beautiful tonight, but amazing. Seeing you at the top of the stairs in this dress...well, it just blew me away…"

Summer wondered in amazement that she could even move after those words. Her legs turned to jelly but his steady arm guided her to their table. It had a view overlooking a lake. The candles danced in the soft, romantic lighting and sitting on the table in front of her seat was a single lavender rose.

"Oh!" Summer looked up at him as he gave her a dazing white tooth smile, clearly happy that she was touched by the rose. "How did you know?"

"I just had a feeling you liked lavender." He said as he pushed her chair in for her like a perfect gentleman. "It just...well it just seemed right for you."

The night couldn't get any more perfect, but then she looked out the window.

Strange men in bizarre green uniforms were running up the street, holding rifles in their hands.

"Mark..." she said nervously.

Mark's head turned to look out of the window, and he saw the men as well.

"Get down, Summer!" he said in a commanding tone. "Under the tablecloth, where they can't see you!"

She barely had time to cover herself before the door to the restaurant burst open, and a dozen of the strangely dressed men were inside, yelling at everyone.

"Where is he?" they cried. "Where is Mark Anderson?"

Summer peeked out from under the bottom of the tablecloth, seeing Mark's feet as he stood and walked over to the men.

"I am Mark Anderson." he said quietly, without any hint of fear in his voice. "What do you want?" If anything, he sounded almost as if he were scolding them for interrupting his evening.

"You have an appointment, brat!" snarled one man. Summer lifted the tablecloth just a little further to see the soldier push the end of his rifle into Mark's throat. "You're going to help convince your father to..."

"Hey, look at this!" another of the men exclaimed, moving past frightened patrons towards Summer's position. "I didn't know tables had high heeled shoes!"

The man reached under the tablecloth, roughly dragging Summer out into the room.

"Seems like Anderson's brat has himself a little girlfriend." he sneered. "And just the one we were looking for, too!"

"I'm sure we could find something to do with her." leered the one with the gun at Mark's throat. "Before we turn her over to Lord Zoltar…"

"If you dare touch one hair on her head..." Mark said threateningly.

"You'll what, sissy boy?" the men laughed roughly. "You're both coming with us!"

Summer found a gun shoved in her back, and tears ran down her face as she was pushed toward the door. It was just starting to sprinkle rain as the men dragged them out of the restaurant. Summer was terrified, but she was more worried about Mark. He was just ahead of her but he looked so calm. Had he lost it?

"Mark..." she said, just above a whisper.

"Summer, don't worry, just do as I say." he managed to say, before he was struck in the side of the head by a rifle butt.

"No talking!" The green-uniformed soldier snarled in her face, but Summer decided that she was not going to be intimidated by these men. At least, she tried not to be as she kicked the man in the shin, before he slapped her across the face and pulled her apart from Mark.

"Mark..." Summer yelled as she tried to get to his side, ignoring the throbbing pain in her cheek.

Mark moaned as they dragged him back to his feet. The two of them were thrown into the back of a grey van, after being gagged and tied up.

"Suuuummmmmmmerrrrrrr…" Mark tried to say through his gag. He tried to indicate to a side of his jeans as he blacked out. Mark's head wound was bleeding and Summer attempted to get to his side while the van jolted them around.

Summer rolled and bumped around the back of the van, being tossed from side to side until the vehicle stopped for a moment. She landed with a thump on top of Mark, who opened his eyes to see her face only an inch away.

Summer felt his long, hard body pressing against hers, and suddenly this whole kidnapping thing didn't seem so bad after all.

"Summerrrrr..." Mark's voice was muffled.

"Whaaaa...?" Summer couldn't say much herself.

Suddenly the van started moving again, and they rolled together to the other side. Summer noticed that Mark was struggling with his hands, attempting to get them free. He seemed to be making a little progress, and she was thinking that he might just be able to do something when the van stopped once more. Mark rolled onto his back, hiding his hands from view.

This time the van didn't begin moving again. The door opened, and more of the green-uniformed men with guns were there.

"Time to get out." they grinned evilly...

Mark pretended to be unconscious and Summer played along with him. One of the guards went to grab him and pull him up. There was a sudden blur, and faster than the speed of sound Mark moved and knocked the man out with a move that had Summer marveling at how he had done it while still tied up.

Summer began to wonder what other talents this handsome man could do with his hands tied up… but the sound of gunfire brought her mind back out of the gutter. She had completely forgotten that she was still tied up and gagged.

Then another green man fell in through the doorway with a feather sticking out of him. Summer cried out…

"Ah, Condor, I'm glad to see you." Mark said loudly from just outside the van. "The Swan too; now I'm impressed!"

"Some thanks for saving his butt." the Condor moaned as Mark's face appeared in the doorway of the van. The Condor jumped in quickly and untied Summer's bonds.

"G-Force are here?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, they are." Mark replied. "Summer, are you OK?" He took her face in his hands as he examined her for injuries.

"She looks OK to me." the Swan stood in the doorway and gave Summer a smile.

"Ja... Condor... I thought-" Mark didn't finish his sentence as he glared at G-2.

"Ah, well, the Eagle isn't here. He's busy, apparently." The Condor shot the Swan a look that made her turn her face up and walk away.

Summer and Mark got out of the van.

"Condor, can I speak with you for a moment?" Mark didn't wait for the G-2 to answer as he took the Condor by the arm and they moved away.

The Swan walked over to Summer.

"You know, you're a lucky girl…" the Swan started to say, but she was interrupted by a loud explosion that rocked the area. Summer fell to the ground, with the Swan next to her.

"What was that?" Summer cried.

"I think they set the self-destruct sequence!" the Swan shouted. "The base is going to blow! We have to get out of here!"

"But what about Mark?" Summer asked frantically. "I need to make sure that he's okay!"

With a strength she hadn't known she possessed, Summer wrenched her arm away from the Swan's grasp, and ran into the flaming wreckage, in the direction she had seen Mark walk just a minute before.

"Mark!" she screamed, coughing and choking from the dark smoke that billowed around her, its acrid air filling her lungs. "Mark! Where are you?"

Her mind grew dizzy, and the air was getting hotter, but still, Summer pressed on. Her mind entered a strange haze, and soon it became an effort to even take a step, but still, she continued to move onwards.

Her legs gave way, and soon she was crawling on the ground, pulling herself forward.

"Mark!" she choked, her voice hoarse and raw. "Where are you?"

The last thing she saw, before she lost consciousness, was a flash of white in front of her...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Summer woke up she was in Mark's arms and he had a worried expression on his face.

"Mark." she croaked with relief as he smiled.

"Summer, that was a brave thing you did, coming for me like that, but don't worry. The Eagle had it all under control."

Summer was confused now as nothing was making any sense to her at all.

"Were they Spectrans?' she asked him, as she tried to sit up.

"Yes." Mark replied. "My father is scientist and they tried to kidnap me so he would give them top secret information. But G-Force foiled their plot." He pulled her to his chest and he buried his face in her hair.

"Summer..." he said emotionally, "you risked your life, going in there to find me…"

She wanted to respond, but found that she couldn't speak. Mark whispered her name over and over again. Finally he pulled away and his lips were only inches from her face. The chemistry between them was so strong that he leaned down and kissed her.

At first, it was the soft searching of a first kiss, but then it grew deeper as their tongues danced, and so did Summer's heart as it began to pound hard against her ribs.

Someone cleared their throat close by.

"Mark..." she heard Jason say..."Mark, maybe we should get Summer to a hospital."

Mark reluctantly broke off the kiss, picking up Summer and holding her close as her arms circled his neck. She pressed her face into the nape of his neck. Funny, Mark smelled a little like gun powder...

The Princess stood just a little away from them, stealing a sidelong glance at Jason...

Summer began to wonder, why were they here, and what had happened to G-Force?

But she didn't get a chance to ask her questions aloud, as an ambulance pulled up at that moment. Mark insisted on carrying her inside, and then stayed with her for the ride to the hospital. Summer kept going in and out of consciousness... she drifted off into a kind of dreamland. Was any of it real? Had it really happened? Or was she still sitting at her desk in math class?

Eventually she came to, and the bright hospital lights hurt her eyes. But the sight of Mark sitting at her side was like a soothing balm.

"Mark..."

The voice that came out of her was raw and croaking. It was hardly like the melodious tones she was used to hearing come from her throat.

"Shhhh..." Mark said, jumping up and giving her a cup of water with a straw. "You're not supposed to speak. The smoke did a lot of damage to your throat, and it has to heal. There were some nasty chemicals in there."

Summer smiled at him, desperately trying to remember if their shared kiss had actually happened or not. She hoped it had, and even more, she hoped Mark would kiss her again. After all, they didn't need words to communicate.

Just then, the doctor came in.

"Miss... uh..." he looked down at the chart in his hand, "Miss Summer, it seems that you suffered from a great deal of smoke inhalation, as well as a few minor physical injuries. But everything seems okay, and you should heal within a few days. In the meantime, you must not speak for the next few hours. I know that you are a semi-professional singer, and you wouldn't want to ruin your vocal chords."

"You're a singer?" Mark asked, surprised. "Hey, Princess is pretty good on guitar, and my little brother plays drums. Maybe you could join their band sometime."

Summer just smiled and nodded. She would do anything to be near Mark. If he wanted to hear her sing, then she was darn well going to belt out the entire Handel's Messiah, if that was his fancy.

"But not until tomorrow." the doctor repeated. "Now, Miss Summer, since you are a minor we contacted your parents, but it seems that they had to run out of town for a few days. Something about your relatives in Nashville..."

Summer's eyes bulged, and it was clear she wanted to know more.

"Oh, apparently everything is fine. Your mother said to let you know that it was just Grandma Lee going all crazy again. Your family had to go and calm her down." the Doctor added, as Summer visibly relaxed. "So they requested that you remain in the hospital until you are fully recovered, and they return."

"That's not right! Summer shouldn't remain here all by herself!" Mark said indignantly. He turned to the beautiful redhead.

"You're coming home with me, Summer!"

Suddenly, Summer's face was as red as her hair.

Mark then marched out of Summer's room to make arrangements to take her to the Anderson mansion. He knew there she would get all the care she would need to make a swift recovery.

The following morning he returned to Summer's room, and Princess and Jason were with him.

"I have asked my father" Mark started giving Jason a glare when he gave snicker. "if it would be okay for you to stay at our place, until your parents return. Princess came along to help you get ready. In case you are not feeling strong enough."

Summer was quickly dressed, signed out and bundled into the front seat of Jason's car. Jason pulled out and drove off to the mansion.

Jason left his car in the driveway of the Anderson mansion. Summer was very impressed with the grand entrance and spectacular gardens and she told Mark this on the way in.

He just casually smiled and told her nothing was as beautiful as her.

The compliment made Summer blush wildly. She looked over at the gardens in an attempt to cover the sudden rush of emotions that went through her when Mark reached over to put his arm around her.

As it turned out his foster father was at work for the day.

Mark insisted that he open the front door for her, and then he picked her up in his arms and carried her into the empty house and up the grand stair case. Summer felt very snug in his arms, and she wondered where he was taking her.

He opened the door to a room and she knew instantly where she was from the model fighter plane sitting on a desk, no to mention the posters on the walls displaying different types of aircraft.

"Airplanes are my hobby." Mark said quietly as she looked around. Then he gently laid her down on the double bed.

"You can rest here for awhile. I don't know which room my father will want you to stay in." he said sheepishly.

He jammed his hands nervously into his pockets and looked down at the floor. Summer realized this was special. From his actions, it was clear that Mark had never brought anyone into his bedroom like this before.

"Mark, I'm cold." Summer shivered. She held an inviting hand out to him and he laid down on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms and mussing her hair with his fingers. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her face, and the beating of his heart against her chest.

"Summer, I love you." Mark whispered as his lips came down onto hers.

Summer could hardly believe what was happening. How could Mark love her? They had only been out on one date. But she had to admit to herself that she was feeling the same way. Mark's kisses were setting off tiny fires within her body, and a warm glow spread through her, setting her skin tingling. It was as if she was being swept away, but she also felt as if she had no control over what was happening to her, and that scared her.

Much as she liked Mark (and she _really_ liked Mark) Summer didn't like the sensation of not being in control of her own actions. She had always thought of herself as a good girl, and yet here she was in the bedroom of a boy she hadn't even known for two weeks, and he was...

Summer gasped as she realized that Mark's hand was caressing her stomach, underneath her shirt. It felt so good... and yet, Summer knew that if they didn't stop now, she might not be able to stop at all.

"Mark, please..." she whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

"What's wrong, Summer?" Mark asked, instantly concerned.

"It's just... going... a little too fast..." Summer blushed to the roots of her hair.

"Oh..." Mark's face turned red as well. "I'm so sorry, Summer, I should have realized. I just..." Mark stumbled over his words in his rush to get them out.

"I just never met anyone I liked as much as you so quickly and just having you here next to me I couldn't help myself and..."

He stopped, hanging his head.

"I guess I acted inappropriately." he apologized. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be..." Summer whispered. "I liked it. That's why I had to stop..."

"I liked it too." Mark grinned.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" Jason's voice accompanied a loud banging on the door. They could hear Mark's brother snickering in the hallway.

"I guess it's just as well we stopped." Mark sighed. "But Summer..."

Summer looked at Mark expectantly.

"One day, I'm not going to want to stop." he promised her.

Summer's returning smile told him that she was looking forward to that day too.

Summer looked at the alarm on Mark's face as the door knob to his bedroom began to turn. The sound of Mr. Anderson's voice accompanying Jason's made Mark's face turn white.

"Ah, Summer you have to hide! There's a rule about having girls in our bedrooms."

Summer nodded as they both frantically looked for a place for her to hide.

"The closet!" Mark said in a panic. Summer ran and got into his spacious walk in wardrobe, stealing a glance at his private belonging as she was pushed up against his shirts. The wardrobe doors closed just in time as Jason entered Mark's room, followed by Chief Anderson, but Summer managed to keep them open a crack so she could see out.

"Mark, are you all right?" Chief Anderson asked him.

"Doing great over here, how about you...? So, what's up?" Mark asked casually moving away from the wardrobe door.

"We have a situation..." Chief Anderson's serious voice could be heard by Summer through the door.

"What wrong?" asked Mark, stepping further away from the closet.

"We have been going over intelligence reports from the attack yesterday evening. From what we understand, now the Spectrans may not have been trying to capture you at all, Mark. It appears that they were more interested in the young lady you were with."

"What?" exclaimed Mark and Jason in shocked tones.

Then Jason questioned, "She's just a kid, what would Spectra want with her?"

Mark gave Jason a glare, as if to remind him that they too were 'kids', before again facing this father. "Chief, why is she so important, that Spectra would attempt to kidnap her?"

"As you know we sent you in to infiltrate that school because there are some important dignitaries' children attending classes there. We had heard that Spectra was planning something within the school."

"Yes, you were still working on what Spectra wanted." replied Mark.

The Chief nodded before continuing, "It appears that that young lady is a member of the Pixtarian Royal Family. In fact, we suspect she may even be King Tribaldi's daughter."

"Pixtar? Wasn't that planet destroyed by the Spectrans more than a decade ago?" Mark questioned.

"You are correct Mark. The Royal Family fled the planet along with everyone else, but I had no idea that they had settled here on Earth. I, like most other people in the Federation, believed them to be on Riga."

"What makes you think Summer is from the Royal Family?"

"A few hours ago, King Tribaldi contacted Galaxy Security and told us his daughter had been hospitalized and that he was unable to look after her due to an important Federation conference he had to attend. He asked if Galaxy Security could send someone to look after her until his return. That is when I connected the fact that the young lady you rescued, and King's Tribaldi's daughter may possibly be the same person. Now I am thinking, who better than the five of you to keep her safe, Commander?"

"We can do that." Mark agreed.

"So, Mark, where is the Princess? Which room have you hidden her in?"

Hidden in the closet, Summer could hardly believe her ears. Royalty? What was this? How could they possibly think that?

Summer knew that her family's name had been Tribaldi, but they had left their home planet because it had been destroyed by the Spectrans. She had grown up on Earth, being told that she was now safe, and didn't have to worry about her personal security. But royalty?

And what was this about Mark and Jason infiltrating the school? She didn't understand...

"Uh... I think she's with Princess..." Mark stuttered nervously.

"I see." Anderson replied, but his tone sounded suspicious.

Summer heard footsteps moving out of the room, and then a second later the closet was opened, and Mark and Jason were standing in front of her.

"You had her in here?" Jason was astounded. "I never would have guessed you had it in you, Mark!" he clapped his brother on the back.

"It's not like that..." Mark muttered, his face burning.

"What's going on?" Summer whispered, her face as white as a sheet.

"Our foster father thinks you might be royalty...?" Mark told her, helping her sit down. Summer's legs weren't quite functioning with the shock of what she had just heard.

"I don't think so." Summer was confused. "My family name is Tribaldi, but... I never heard anything about this before..."

"We're going to get to the bottom of this." Mark promised her.

"What was this about you infiltrating the high school?" Summer asked. "Looking for Spectrans? What's that all about, Mark?"

Mark sighed heavily, sitting down next to Summer on the bed while Jason leaned casually against the wall, crossing his arms and legs. He pulled some kind of feather out of his jeans pocket and began chewing on the tip.

"Well, Summer, it's like this..." Mark began.

"You know my foster father is the Chief of Galaxy Security right? Well because we have been trained for security and we are still young, we are sometimes sent in to infiltrate places were older operatives will not fit in. Like schools and things."

"But why _my_ school? Why _me_?" Summer asked, her voice almost pleading for an explanation that made sense to her. "Why does your foster father think I am royalty? And what makes _you_ so special that he thinks you can protect me from the Spectrans?"

As Summer finished, Jason gave a snort. Mark turned, sending him a hard look, before Jason said, "So, how are you going to talk your way out of that one, Skipper?"

"I can't answer that, Summer." Mark said, hanging his head. "I need to talk to my father, first."

"Oh, so you don't trust me enough to tell me... whatever this big secret is!" Summer said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I think this whole thing stinks! I'm going back to the hospital! I need more rest, and all of this crazy talk is just too much excitement!"

Summer's throat was indeed raw from all of her words. She had come here to rest and heal, and that was _not_ happening. All Mark had done was try to take advantage of her, and now he was feeding her some pack of lies!

She stood up angrily, stalking toward the door and opening it, only to come face to face with Galaxy Security Chief William Anderson.

"Princess..." he said.

Summer lost it. She angrily pushed by, running for the exit, ignoring Mark's pleading cry.

"Summer, wait!"

For once the Chief look stunned, clearly wondering what he had said wrong. Then Mark raced by, crying out.

"Summer, wait!" he shouted again.

As Mark reached the top of the stairs, he could see Summer below opening the front door, where she stopped dead.

Standing outside of the door where two large security guards. As Summer opened the door the guards raised their hands, "I am sorry, Miss, but we cannot let you leave the building. Please return inside, where you are safe."

Summer was taking a breath to speak when she felt Mark at her back, "Thank you, guys. I will take care of this now." He put a hand on Summer's shoulder and turned her around to walk her back into the house.

As Mark and Summer reached the bottom of the stairs, Summer could see the Chief on his way down. She turned to Mark and looking into his eyes she demanded in a whisper, "So, now I am a prisoner here?"

"No, your Majesty." came the reply from Anderson. "You are here for your own protection. Commander, if you will take the Princess into the lounge, I am sure we can sort this out."

Mark was still looking into Summer's eyes, and he could see the confusion in them.

"Commander?" she questioned before looking around the room, in a vain attempt to spot this Commander who was going to take her out of Mark's arms.

"You just do it, Mark." Anderson said quickly, his face turning red.

"Who is this Commander?" Summer whispered angrily.

"Your Majesty..." the Chief attempted to soothe Summer, but the angry expression on her face made it clear that he was having the opposite effect.

"This way please, Pri... Summer." he said. "There are some things you need to know."

Summer looked at the Chief, finally nodding. It wasn't like she had much choice.

"I'll stay with you." Mark reassured her.

With his arm around Summer's waist, Mark led her into the lounge and sat down beside her on the long sofa. Anderson and Jason followed and shortly afterwards Princess entered the room as well carrying a tray.

"I brought some refreshments for everybody. I hope you do not mind lemonade, Summer. It is fresh squeezed." Princess held out a glass towards Summer.

As Summer reached for the glass she looked around the room at the people assembled and then leaned over to whisper into Mark's ear, "So where is this Commander that your father is talking about?"

Anderson gave a cough and then started.

"Summer, Mark is in charge of our unit of special operatives." Chief Anderson explained. "He carries the honorary title of Commander."

Summer nodded as if she understood, but she didn't really. Special operatives? What was that all about?

"We suspected that Spectran agents might be trying to go after certain students at your school." Anderson continued. "This is why I sent Mark, Jason and Princess to enroll there. They were supposed to keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"So... you're not a student?" Summer asked Mark.

"Not at your school." Mark admitted. "I was home schooled, and I graduated last year."

"Now, we think that the Spectrans are after you." the Chief told Summer. "I can see that you do not agree with my supposition that you are the Princess Tribaldi, but I suspect that the Spectrans do. I believe they are after you."

"Spectra? After me?" Summer was clearly frightened out of her wits.

"Don't worry, Summer." Mark said, holding her closely. "I'll protect you." Mark did not see the disapproving glare his father sent his way, but Summer did.

"Uh... Mark..." she was uncomfortable, and pulled away slightly.

"I am going to assign Mark, Jason and Princess to watch over you." the Chief continued. I'll contact your father, and you can speak with him. In the meantime, you will stay here for your own safety."

Summer didn't know what to think, and besides, all of the emotional turmoil and activity over the last few hours were finally getting to her. She felt like she was ready to drop right here.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was Princess who came to her rescue.

"Why don't I take you up to your room? You look like you could do with some rest, and since tomorrow is Sunday, you are welcome to sleep in as long as you like. You do not have to worry about going to school."

Princess walked Summer up the stairs and down the same hallway that Summer remembered Mark carrying her along earlier. This time though, the room they walked into was decorated in crisp whites and blues.

"My room is through here." said Princess. "We have a connecting bathroom. This way we do not have to share our space with the boys. With those four leaving wet towels and mess all over the place, I managed to convince the Chief to let me have this washroom as my own. Besides it is nice to have some 'me' space once in a while."

While Princess was talking she had led Summer into the bathroom. In it was a huge raised bathtub and Summer could imagine herself lying back and relaxing in it, letting the warm water and some bubbles ease away the aches in her back and neck. Princess must have noticed her wistful expression because she pulled some soft pink towels out of a cupboard and said, "It looks like you would enjoy a bath. Go get undressed, while the tub fills. When you are done, go get some rest."

Princess moved to turn on the water and adjust the temperature before turning back to Summer,

"I don't suppose Mark remembered to stop at your place to get you a change of clothes did he? Well I am sure I can find you something to wear to bed and then, when you are up, we can return to your house and packing some clothes to last for a few days." Summer nodded at Princess as she left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Summer quickly removed her clothes and sighed gratefully as she slid into the bath. She discovered a bottle of bubble bath next to the tub, and poured some in. Now the scent of strawberries wafted up from the water, and she was covered with the fragrant bubbles. The warm water relaxed her muscles, and she found herself closing her eyes, enjoying the sensation. She had truly taken a beating from her ride in the van with Mark, after they had been abducted, and her bruises needed this sort of treatment to ease their dull ache.

In this relaxed setting, Summer thought about everything she had learned in the past hour. She still had a difficult time believing that she was royalty, but everything Chief Anderson had said was consistent with what she had grown up believing. She was forced to admit to herself that the Galaxy Security Chief was possibly correct in his assumption. Certainly this was something she needed resolved immediately. She was old enough now that if this truly were her heritage, she deserved to know.

And Mark... being part of a special Galaxy Security team monitoring the high school... it was mind boggling. In a way, it was disappointing too. She so desperately wanted Mark to be a normal high school boy who could ask her out on dates and take her to the prom. And now it appeared that he had a job that took all of his time.

But then, right now, it appeared that his job was to protect her... The thought of that set butterflies fluttering inside of Summer's stomach. She began to wonder about what had happened when they had been captured by the Spectran agents. G-Force had been there, and Mark had disappeared... what had happened to him? She had never gotten a clear answer on that.

She sighed again, discovering that she had been in the bath for almost an hour, and many of the bubbles were now gone. Reluctantly, she realized that it was time for her to get out. She opened her eyes to look for the pink towel Princess had left for her...

Only to see Mark staring at her from the doorway.

"Uh..." Mark appeared to be at a loss for words. "I... uh..."

Summer swallowed nervously, a red color suffusing her cheeks. She felt warm and tingly inside, and the feeling definitely wasn't from the rapidly cooling bath water. She hadn't thought about closing the door between the bathroom and her bedroom, and now she was regretting that decision.

Although a large part of her was also rejoicing in it.

"I was just dropping off your clothes..." Mark mumbled, unable to tear his eyes away.

"I was just about to get out..." Summer whispered, two sides of herself at war with what she wanted Mark to do.

Apparently, Mark was also suffering from the same dilemma. He stared at her with his large blue eyes, clearly torn as to his next course of action.

"How did you get my clothes?" asked Summer as the thought struck her. "I mean how did you get into my house to get my clothes? You said you brought me my clothes. How?" Summer was aware she was rambling so she bit her lower lip to stop herself from talking.

Had Mark been going through her things? Summer tried to recall the condition in which she had left her room as she thought about Mark being there. Had she left anything out that was inappropriate? Where had she placed her diary? She could not remember. Would he have read that if he had seen it? Now Summer could feel the skin on her neck and chest beginning to burn as she blushed even further.

Summer did a quick visual check around the bathroom for the towel. Why did she have to leave it over there on the stool? She should have placed it on the platform beside the tub. How was she going to get to it with Mark still standing there? And she needed to get it soon because shortly there would be no bubbles left to hide her from Mark's eyes.

That's when she heard a thump on the opposite wall and then the door to Princess' room banged open. Jason and Princess stumbled into the room after the door swung open, lips pressed together. Princess' arms were wrapped around Jason's neck and Jason's hands were pulling Princess' hips up against his.

When Princess looked up from the kiss, she gave a little giggle, "Uh, sorry Summer, I didn't know you were still in here. I thought you would have gone to bed by now."

Summer looked from the pair toward Mark who was now standing and staring at them, his eyebrows raised almost up to his hairline and his mouth hanging open.

"Um, I'm still in here..." Summer mumbled, embarrassed that there were now two young men in the bathroom with her, and her rapidly diminishing pile of bubbles.

"Sorry..." Princess grinned, pulling Jason back into her own room. "Didn't mean to disturb you, Summer."

"Or you, Mark." Jason added, raising an eyebrow at Summer's companion.

"I... uh... was just..." Mark stuttered.

"Yeah, we know what you were just doing." Jason laughed, as Princess' bedroom door closed behind him.

Mark and Summer were alone again.

'I hope, you… uh... don't think..." Mark's face was a flaming red.

"No... " Summer shook her head. "It was an honest mistake."

"Not that I wouldn't... uh... want to see..." Mark's eyes were growing bigger and bigger. Summer suddenly realized that the few remaining bubbles weren't really covering her body anymore.

"Could I have my towel, please?" she squeaked.

"Sure." Mark replied, picking up the pink towel and holding it out toward Summer, trying to remain as far away as possible from the tub as he did so.

"Thanks." muttered Summer, grabbing the cloth from Mark's hand and attempting to cover herself as she emerged from the tub. Mark averted his gaze, but Summer was sure she had caught him sneaking a glimpse as she quickly climbed out of the tub, wrapping the fluffy towel around her.

"You're peeking!" she accused him, as she gripped the towel around her body.

"Sorry." Mark turned around, looking Summer in the eye. "I... I couldn't help it..."

Summer felt as if she couldn't breathe, as Mark took a step toward her.

"You're so beautiful." he said quietly.

"I am?" Summer squeaked nervously.

"Yes." Mark replied, his manner more self assured now as he bent his head down to kiss her. His arms moved around her waist, embracing her, towel and all.

"Oh..." Summer sighed, eagerly returning his kiss as the butterflies in her stomach transformed into flickering flames of delight at Mark's touch. Her arms slid around his neck, her fingers threading through his auburn hair.

His lips moved across hers, teasing and tasting while his fingers gently stroked her back through the towel. Summer moaned as his mouth left hers, beginning a slow journey along the slim white column of her throat, and down toward her right breast. His hand skimmed up her body, stroking at the soft swell of her bosom that was exposed over the towel, before his fingers slid inside, pulling out her perfect breast and displaying it before his admiring gaze.

All thoughts of protest left Summer's head as his mouth closed over her sensitive flesh, pulling and tugging on it, sending darts of pleasure throughout her body.

"Mark..." she sighed.

"Mark!"

The pair jumped. The second voice had clearly belonged to Chief Anderson, and had come from close by. Immediately Mark scurried out of the bathroom, running through Summer's room.

"Yes, Chief?" he asked, even as Summer softly closed the bathroom door, leaving it open only a crack so that she could hear.

"What were you doing in Princess Tribaldi's room?" Chief Anderson's angry voice drifted in from the hallway.

Mark quickly stepped into the hall and faced the Chief, "I was just putting Summer's clothes in her room, as you requested, after Sergeant Furtax brought them back."

"Oh, right. Yes." Anderson shook his head as though to clear it and then said, "Spectra has made an appearance. You need to assemble your team and meet me in my office."

"Yes, Sir." responded Mark. As the Chief walked briskly down the hall Mark glanced back at the bathroom door and then walked away towards Princess's room. Summer could hear him pounding on the door.

"What?" snapped Jason's voice. Thirty seconds later, Summer heard the door being yanked open. "Just because _you_ don't know how to handle a woman, don't come annoying us when we …."

Clearly hurt, Mark barked, "Jason, Shut up! The Chief wants us in his office. Now!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Summer, now dressed, peeked out of her room, only to see a young boy and an older teen exiting another room with foolish grins on their faces. In their haste, they had forgotten to lock the door. Summer wondered what was so amusing. Princess had told her that there weren't any other bedrooms in this part of the house.

Curiously, Summer walked over to the door, knocking on it.

No one answered.

Shrugging, she attempted to enter. The handle moved easily. She walked into the room.

Summer was very surprised to see a bank of security monitors, and she blanched when she realized that half of them were displaying the bathroom she was sharing with Princess. The other half displayed Princess' bedroom.

"What?" she cried, turning a deep red color. Had those two boys seen…? She could understand Chief Anderson having security cameras in his home, but in the bathroom? And the bedrooms? Summer was aghast at this invasion of privacy, not to mention that just anybody could watch through the cameras! She was not comfortable with being on display in this way, especially knowing that she had been taking a bath, and then, with Mark…

She wouldn't let herself be victimized like this again! Her rage now overcoming her embarrassment, she stormed back to the room she had been allocated, quickly pulling out a piece of notepaper and a pen, addressing her message to the Chief. She wished that she could speak with him in person and give him a piece of her mind, but clearly if she attempted that they would bring in guards to physically restrain her again.

"I cannot believe that I trusted you!" she wrote. "Chief Anderson, your gall knows no bounds! How dare you invade my privacy by filming me while I was in the bath? I don't know what kind of kinky games you are all playing in this house, but I want no part of it. I am leaving this house!"

Furious, she grabbed the box of clothes that Mark had brought up and opened her window. Fortunately, this room was on the ground floor. She exited via defenestration, then quietly moved around the edge of the house to the driveway.

The security guards were still there at the front door. No matter. She would just have to avoid them, that was all.

Then, in front of her, she saw the answer to her dilemma. Jason's car, a beat-up Nissan Skyline, sat in the driveway, its keys still in the ignition.

Grinning to herself, Summer quietly dropped her box of clothes into the front passenger seat, then snuck over to the driver's side.

She turned the key, and the engine started. It was surprisingly powerful, for such a non-descript car. Summer buckled her seatbelt and took off down the driveway, peeling out the tires as she did so. The security guards barely moved, as if they were used to seeing this car being driven in such a manner.

Whatever. She was going back to the hospital, and she was going now. Summer grinned to herself as she sped down the highway.

It was nearly five minutes before she realized that there was another car following her. She examined it in the rearview mirror, only to see green uniformed Spectran soldiers occupying the front seats, while the man on the passenger side pointed a gun in her direction.

What had she done?

Summer stomped on the accelerator and the Skyline shot ahead of the car with the soldiers. When she looked in her rearview mirror again, Summer could see it was catching up and pulling up beside her once more, only this time a second car was edging up on her driver's side as well.

Summer suddenly remembered all those films she would watch with the car chases and how she always thought, "Why the hell do you always try to use speed to get away, when it obviously does not work? Try another tactic instead!"

But when Summer checked, the two cars were both beside her, and she had no where to go except forward, unless ….. Summer checked her rearview mirror again.

"What would happen if ….? Shoot, what's the worst that could happen?" Summer removed her foot from the accelerator and immediately stomped on the brakes. The Skyline skidded and fish tailed to a halt as the other two cars raced past her and on down the road, brake lights finally coming on after a few seconds.

Luckily where the Skyline had come to a stop there was a turn off and Summer was even facing the correct direction after the back end had slid sideways when she had stopped. Once again, Summer stomped on the accelerator and the car took off between some buildings. She made some quick turns, hoping to lose the soldiers before they even got started again.

After a few minutes, Summer could see no sign of pursuit, so she pulled up and stopped. What was she going to do now? Go back to the mansion? No, not if she was going to be spied on. She wouldn't mind Mark's protection, but she was _not_ going to lose her privacy just for the pleasure of his company.

So should she go to the hospital or to her home? Which one should she choose? When she had left the mansion she had originally intended to go back to the hospital, but why not her home? She could look after herself. She knew where everything was. Since her parents were away she would be alone so she could heal in peace. Besides, it meant that she could sleep in her own bed, and that sounded like the best idea.

Summer looked around so she could orient herself and make her way home. Once she discovered where she was she had no problem finding the correct streets to get her to the highway again. Within twenty minutes, Summer was pulling into her driveway and walking around to the passenger side of the car. She pulled out the box of her belongings from the front passenger seat.

But as she stood up, she felt something pressing into her back and when she looked over her shoulder she could see one of the Spectran soldiers.

"Okay, Princess Tribaldi, you are not getting away from us this time. Drop the box and follow us."

Summer looked around at the dozen or so soldiers who were pointing guns at her. She had no other options this time, so she did what they asked and put the box down. As she stood up, the man behind her lowered his gun and grabbed one of her arms, starting to pull her toward a waiting car on the street.

That was when Summer saw some flashes of light and some of the green suited soldiers were suddenly falling to the ground. A stronger tug on her arm forced her to stumble into the Spectran car's open door. Then she felt hands at her back and on her head as she was forced further into the car, with a soldier climbing in behind her.

"Go!" he shouted.

Summer looked out of the passenger window and saw the Eagle and the Swan taking down the last of the soldiers on her lawn and moving toward the car that held her. Beside her, Summer heard the Spectran goon inhale a nervous breath, before she heard someone from the front seat sneer, "I wouldn't, if I were you."

When Summer turned to look, the Condor was sitting in the driver's seat, facing her with his gun pointed at the goon. The door beside her popped open, startling Summer. A blue-gloved arm reached in and pulled her out of the car.

"How did you know where I was? How did you know I needed help?" Summer asked the Eagle as he pulled her against his chest.

"You were reported missing by Chief Anderson." the Swan explained. "So we were sent to find you. Your home was the first logical place to look."

"Oh." Summer was completely embarrassed. Duh! Of course they would check out her home first! And the Spectrans had done so as well. Even if she wasn't this alien Princess, the Spectrans thought she was. She truly _was_ in danger.

Suddenly, she realized that the Eagle was still holding her... somewhat too closely.

"Uh..." she placed her palms flat on his chest, pushing away. "Thanks for the help..."

She attempted to back away, but the G-Force Commander continued to hold her tightly, preventing her from pulling apart from him.

"I'm okay now..." she insisted, attempting to make clear her discomfort with her physical proximity to the Eagle.

"You're in danger, Princess." he said in a low tone. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Where are you taking me?" Summer asked, worried.

"Back to Chief Anderson." the Eagle said.

"No, I'm not going back!" Summer retorted angrily. "You don't know the kind of strange stuff going on at that place! People spying on me... their intentions may be good but it's just about as bad as being tailed by the Spectrans! At least I know what _they_ want of me!"

"Spying on you...?" the Swan appeared confused.

"Oh, it was horrible!" Summer cried. The Eagle held her close, and strangely, she felt comforted. "I found security cameras that were spying on me in the bath! And I think they were spying on Anderson's daughter too. How dare they invade my privacy like that!"

"Tiny..." growled the Condor.

"Keyop..." grimaced the Swan.

Summer didn't know what these words meant, but she guessed it was some kind of secret code. Still, the two G-Force Officers appeared to be taking what she said seriously.

"I know where you can go." the Eagle said, bending his head down to whisper in her ear. "A place where you can be safe, and not at the Chief's home. I'll send Mark to protect you."

"Mark?" Summer stuttered. "Can he protect me? I mean, he's a nice guy and all, and smart, but... I'd hate to see him get hurt by the Spectrans."

"He'll explain everything where he gets there." the Commander promised, his breath warm on her cheek.

Summer felt a strange tingling run down her spine. There was something very familiar about the Eagle... she pulled back, lowering her head, then looking upward to see underneath his visor. She gasped with sudden recognition.

"Mark...?" she moaned, before collapsing to the ground in a faint.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Summer awoke she was lying on a bed in what appeared to be a medical clinic. She moved her head and there sitting across from her on a cabinet, his back leaning against the wall, was the Eagle.

His right leg was gently swinging in a relaxed motion, while his left was raised, the heel of his boot resting on the edge of the counter. His wings were wrapped around his upper body and his head leaned back against the wall.

Oddly enough, even though she did not know where she was, Summer felt comforted. As she admired the view she thought that he almost seemed like her own White Knight.

Suddenly, the Eagle's eyes opened and they were looking straight at her. For a moment it felt like they were boring right into her soul.

"Oh, good you're awake." he said.

Summer nodded her head and then questioned, "Where are we? Are you really…. Mark?"

The Eagle looked around the room and then said matter-of-factly, "Medical Bay in the Phoenix."

"What?" Summer gasped in shock, sitting up.

"Well I did say I knew of a place where you would be safe, and at the moment I cannot think of a safer place on Earth than the Phoenix. No Spectran has ever gotten onboard her and, well…." The Eagle gave a one-shouldered shrug before continuing, "Now that we have the G2 back, we can complete our mission and then decide where to take you."

Summer whispered, "Mission? The G2 …" and then her eyes opened in shock. "The G2? I was driving the G2?"

"Got it right… I told Jase you were smart." the Eagle said with a smile. "He's not too happy that you took her, but don't worry, it's more because the Chief yelled at him for leaving the keys in the ignition than anything else. Personally, I think he was pleased; you did such a good job driving her."

A beep broke the silence that fell in the room after the Eagle spoke and he raised his wrist to his lips, "Go ahead."

"Mark! Umm... Commander." Summer saw a smile form on the Eagle's lips, as Jason's voice came from the communicator, "Where are you?"

"Medical still."

"We're nearly there!"

The Eagle lowered his arm and his eyes sought out Summer's, "Does that answer your other question?"

Summer nodded her head and then asked, "Nearly where?"

"We got some co-ordinates from the vehicle of the men who attempted to kidnap you." the Eagle explained. "We suspect that they give the location of a vital Spectran Base. We had to act quickly, before they pulled out."

"Pulled out?" Summer was confused.

"The Spectrans like to run, when they know we're coming." the Commander smirked. "But when they do, they destroy all valuable data. If we can get our hands on their computer systems, then we might be able to recover enough military information to turn the tide of the war."

"What kind of information?" Summer asked curiously.

"Troop deployments, attack strategies, weapons and mecha in development, that kind of thing. " the Eagle elaborated. "Sometimes, we also get data on _us_, which lets us know how much intelligence they have on Galaxy Security. Sometimes we are even able to discover Spectran spies before they cause too much damage to the Federation."

"Wow... that sounds important..." Summer was embarrassed. Here, G-Force was chasing around after her, when they could be doing much more significant things. She wished that she could sink into the floor.

"I'm sorry I've been such a bother..." she mumbled.

"You're not a bother!" the Commander insisted, jumping up and moving next to the bed on which she was lying. "If anything, you make me want to defeat Spectra even more, so we can end this war and..."

"We're here, Commander." came Jason's voice through the Eagle's communicator.

"Understood." the Eagle replied, moving away from Summer and heading toward the door. He turned to look back at Summer.

"You'll be safe, here." he said. "The Owl will remain behind with you."

"Be safe..." Summer gulped, as the Eagle ran off.

88888

Summer remained on the bed for a few minutes and then decided she could not stay here. Call it curiosity, but she needed to see what was happening and the Eagle had not said she could not leave the room had he?

She walked to the door and looked into the hallway. No one was around, but then why would there be? They were all on the bridge weren't they? At least that was what the few images of them she had seen in the media had always shown.

But which way should she go? The Eagle had turned right when he had left the room, so Summer decided to go right as well. She smiled to herself as she walked down the corridor, and then she came to a door at the end of the passage.

Summer paused in thought. There had been no other turn off that she had seen. Squaring her shoulders, Summer reached out to touch the door and it slid open, Before her was the Bridge of the Phoenix with its forward display of monitors.

"… any information on the size of the base yet?" Summer heard the Eagle enquire.

"It's coming up right now." the Condor replied tersely.

Finally, the Condor looked up at the Eagle, "It looks like a relatively small base. It won't take much to search the premises and then set charges to destroy it."

Summer watched as the Eagle moved around to the Condor's side and looked over his shoulder at the monitor. After examining the data on the monitor for a few minutes he nodded his head.

"Okay! You, the Swan and the Swallow will go in." he ordered. "Retrieve any data you can, set the charges, and when you are ready to leave, give us a call."

The Eagle stepped away and moved back to his seat beside the Owl when the Condor spoke, "What's up Mark? You usually take the lead on these things."

That was when the Condor turned around, his eyes brushing over Summer, "Oh, I get it! You want some _alone_ time."

Summer opened her mouth but all that came out was a squeak of a retort.

But the Eagle had no such problems. He snapped around, drawing his shoulders back, pulled his head up and glared at the Condor before he snarled, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Jase!"

The Eagle's eyes then moved over to the Swan, and then back to the Condor. He twitched an eyebrow and smirked.

"If you can't, I can always take your place and leave you up here babysitting." the Eagle suggested.

Summer watched as the Condor backed down and then stepped onto a platform with the Swallow and the Swan. The platform rose up through a hole in the roof of the Phoenix and from a monitor she saw a bubble retract and the three teammates jumped and glided to the ground below.

"Tiny, let's give them some space so we don't attract too much attention down there."

Summer moved forward while they were waiting and as she did so the Eagle turned and nodded towards the Swan's seat, "Feel free to sit, if you want."

He then turned back to the monitors as the Condor's whispered voice came over the speakers.

"We're in."

After ten minutes of tense waiting they heard the Condor's voice again, but he was yelling this time.

"Shit, Commander they have a mecha down here! It's just getting away!"

"We see it G2! We're on it!"

Suddenly, in front of them was a ship that looked like an insect. It had six legs and numerous antennae, flapping wings and two red wing covers. The wing covers had black spots and Summer decided it reminded her of a ladybug.

"I'll bet Princess was not too happy to find that thing." the Owl commented.

The next thing Summer knew, she was grabbing onto her seat. She was nearly thrown to the floor when the Phoenix veered out of the path of a missile that had been fired from one of the black spots on the insect.

Very quickly, Summer located the seat belt on her chair and snapped it around her hips. She didn't want to fall out again!

"I don't think the TBX Missiles are going to cut it, Commander." the Owl said. "We may have to..." his voice drifted off as he turned and saw Summer nervously gripping the edge of the control station in front of her.

"I know what you're trying to say, Tiny." the Eagle sighed. "And unfortunately, I agree with you."

He walked over to where Summer sat at the Swan's station, and took the seat next to her: the one normally occupied by the Swallow.

"Summer," the Commander said quietly to her, "we have to go Fiery Phoenix."

"Oh..." Summer's voice was very small and tight. She had heard on the news about this death-defying attack that the G-Force Team performed in emergency situations. Never had she expected to experience it for herself. But then, wasn't it her own fault that she was aboard the Phoenix anyway? She couldn't let her presence prevent G-Force from doing what they needed to do.

"I understand." she gulped nervously.

"That's my girl." the Eagle smiled at her, and suddenly, he was Mark again, not this strange, imposing Commander she had been observing on the Bridge of the Phoenix.

"I'll stay with you." he promised, before giving the order.

"Tiny, go to Fiery Phoenix!" the Eagle instructed the Phoenix's pilot.

"G-Force!" Tiny replied, pushing the levers all of the way up.

"Put your head down." the Commander instructed her, and she quickly laid her arms down on the console, burying her face within them.

"I'm here." she heard Mark's voice as if it were far away, and the engines hummed to a pitch so loud she felt as if her eardrums would burst.

The heat didn't come gradually, it was a searing, intense burst that made it seem as if her hair was being instantly singed off. She cried out, and suddenly felt a comforting weight above her; something enveloping her entire body. It took her a moment to realize that the Eagle was lying over top of her, and had wrapped her within his wings.

But even this was not enough, as the ship began to shake and buckle underneath her, and she felt as if her body were being torn apart.

"Mark!" she screamed, but no one heard her, over the thunderous roar of the engine.

All she could do was squeeze her eyes tight and desperately hope that she would make it through this. Breathing seemed to become more difficult and the heat, if it was possible, seemed to get even more intense. Then the lights flickering behind her eyelids got more and more narrow. Summer realized that she was going to black out shortly.

Then as quickly as the searing pain had begun, it ended. All she felt was a weight across her back and around her. It constricted her chest, making her gasp for breath. All she heard was someone muttering in her ear, "It's okay. It's okay. You're doing well. You're going to make it." The words were repeated over and over, like a chant.

Slowly as normal feeling began to return to her, Summer realized that Mark was still on top of her and his arms were wrapped tightly around her chest. She wriggled a bit to give herself more room to breathe, and as the Eagle began to remove his arms, Summer grabbed them and held them to her. The entire time, Mark's voice continued chanting softly in her ear, as he rocked her against him.

She opened her eyes, but it was still dark and Summer's first thought was that she had gone blind. Then Mark shifted his weight, sitting her up and pulling her against his chest, and she saw a crack of light, finally realizing that she was still in the shelter of his wings. Summer closed her eyes and curled her head into his chest, resting her forehead on the Eagle's bicep.

In the darkness, warmth and the strength with which she was surrounded, Summer felt safe and comforted. No longer could she hear him speaking, but instead she heard his heartbeat. For just a moment Summer wondered how his heartbeat could be so regular when hers felt so erratic, but then she let her tension go as slowly, muscle by muscle, her body began to relax and her breathing returned to normal.

"Commander?" she heard the muffled voice of the Owl say.

"Mmmm ..?" rumbled in the chest by her ear before the Eagle replied more loudly, "Yes?"

"Jason is calling for pickup."

She heard the smile in the Eagle's voice, "Then I guess we had better go get them."

As the Eagle shifted again Summer opened her eyes, looking up into his face and wrapping her hands around his arm she whispered.

"No, don't. Not yet."

Mark looked down and brought his mouth close to her ear, whispering back with a gentle smile.

"For as long as you need me."

Yet all too soon, the Eagle did have to release her, and while Summer understood that it was necessary, she also felt as if she had lost something vital... that she would only be complete when she was near Mark.

And now she knew... she truly understood... that the Eagle _was_ Mark. The warmth, the caring he had displayed towards her had shown her the true man who wore that gleaming white uniform...

A man with whom she had fallen in love.

The other three members of the G-Force Team descended down into the Bridge, and Summer stood off to the back, feeling like an outsider as she watched them returning to their seats and reporting to their Commander. Gone was the Mark she knew, replaced by someone grimly leading his troops through the ugly necessities of war.

But this time, she saw the real Mark, buried beneath.

Summer gaped, amazed, as the Phoenix plummeted toward the ocean at great speed, plunging beneath its blue-green waters, moving quickly toward its destination.

Center Neptune.

Summer had only heard of this almost mythical place... the location from which the entire Federation defense force was organized and sent forth.

"Welcome home, G-Force!" came a voice over the radio, as a giant panel in the side of the base began to open.

Home... this was home to Mark. He lived here, at this military base, and not in that room she had seen at Chief Anderson's mansion. Summer lived in a boring suburban tract home with her parents and three brothers. She walked to school and her biggest concern was who was taking her to the prom.

Could she really fit into the world that Mark lived in? Did she want to?

The Eagle turned back and smiled at her, his eyes telling her silently that he wanted her in his arms again.

Oh yes... she wanted to be part of his world.

But _could_ she?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After the Phoenix docked and while the water was draining away the Eagle moved towards Summer while he spoke, "You guys head up to the meeting room and I will join you shortly, after I drop Summer off at the guest quarters."

The team left the ship and the Swan said, "I need to take this data to Intelligence and then I'll see you up there." She moved off in a different direction, while the Condor, the Swallow and the Owl moved elsewhere.

"Can't you stay with me?" Summer shyly asked the Eagle.

He smiled as he turned to face her, and suddenly Mark was back again, "Summer, I have to go to debrief. As much as I would like to stay, I cannot."

"Can't I go with you?" she asked hesitantly.

"You don't want to sit through hours of debrief, talking and hashing and rehashing everything that we just did. Besides, you could probably do with some rest. You have had a busy time since I met you to take you out for dinner yesterday."

Mark was going to leave her, but she still wanted his warmth and comfort. How did she say that without sounding like a baby?

"It's just … well … I just … " Finally Summer found the courage to say what was in her heart. She looked down and muttered, "I don't want to be alone, yet."

Two white covered, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into their embrace, and Mark was whispering into her hair,

"I understand Summer. Okay, we will go together." he sighed and then smiled. "Come on, to the elevators."

Mark placed his arm across her shoulders and led Summer back to the elevators. When they stepped out onto the floor they arrived on she felt the man at her side drop his arm from her shoulders, straighten his back, and square his head.

The Eagle had returned.

Taking her hand he quickly led her through several more corridors. Summer planned on paying attention to where they were going, but she was distracted by the view outside the windows along one side of the corridor.

"There are fish out there." she said in wonder, before recalling that to get here the Phoenix had had to travel under the ocean waters.

Her sudden pause brought the Eagle to a stop and he turned to look down at her with a smile in his eyes.

"Do you like them?" he asked

"Yes. It was just a shock to see them, that's all."

"We are almost there. Let's go." And then he was racing off again pulling her along.

Another turn and they were at a door, that slid open as they approached. They quickly stepped inside. The Eagle dropped Summer's hand and nodded to the others in the room, "Chief"

"Mar … ah, Commander." the Chief began, only to start again as he saw Summer.

"Do you think it was a good idea to bring her, Commander?" the Chief spoke calmly but something was hidden in his tone; in the message.

Summer could feel the hair on the back of her head rising. She opened her mouth to respond when the Eagle jumped in.

"She has figured out enough. And I decided it would be faster to bring her along."

Finally, Summer got her voice to work, "Mark you … don't need to." She halted while she spoke because while turning to the Eagle, she saw his head tilt and his face and eyes light up with a smile.

She wondered how he was able to do that: change so suddenly from one persona to the other. Mark appeared before her again, and her heart caught in her throat.

Then the Eagle turned to look at the Chief and said, "I told you she had figured it out."

Mark then led Summer to a long couch and motioned for her to sit. He then returned to the table where the Chief and the others were. Then they began their discussion. Summer tried to follow the conversation, but so much of it was beyond her; they were using words and terms she had never heard of; never would have dreamed of using.

She let her head fall back against the back of the couch, closing her eyes and drifting. She was tired, and this was a waste of time. Why had she said she wanted to come here? She could have gone to a guest room and slept, as Mark had suggested.

Summer continued to let her thoughts drift and was letting the words from the other six in the room float over and around her. Then a word they used made her skin prick. What was it they had said? Biominiopic? Why did she recognize that word?

"That has something to do with medical technology, doesn't it?"

Summer continued to think, and it took her a moment to realize that the voices had stopped. When she opened her eyes and raised her head she noticed six pairs of eyes looking at her in surprise. Only then did she realize that she must have spoken her thought allowed.

"What do you know about biominiopic particles?" the Chief demanded. "How do you, a teenager, even know of the term?"

It was a good question, and one she had been trying to figure out since she had realized that the voices had stopped.

"I .. I don't know. I think I … heard it… somewhere…" she stammered.

"Where?" Anderson demanded to know.

"Chief!" Mark's form rose from his position at the table and he moved towards her, "You wont get any further with her, than you do with Jason, or any of us, when you use that tone. Let her think. You're frightening her."

And then Mark was kneeling beside her and his warm hands were holding hers. Summer blinked.

"When did you change your clothes?"

Mark gave a laugh, "Don't worry about that right now. I want you to think. Think about where you heard the term 'biominiopic'."

"I don't know, Mark. I can't place it. It is just … Oh! I didn't hear it. I read it. I was doing some research for my science project and I came across the word."

"Where?" demanded Anderson.

"In a book?" asked Mark. But then he looked back at the Chief, who had shaken his head.

"No… it was on the Internet. Why? Is it important?"

Mark shook his head, "We don't know. Some of the data brought back from that base mentions some research being done and biominiopic particles are mentioned."

"'Bio' means living, doesn't it? So this would be… living technology?"

"Good guess." said the Chief, stepping forward. "But from the research data Princess retrieved it looks more like this is a technology that can be placed into a body. One designed to attack and destroy cells."

"What?" Summer gasped in shock. "Why would anyone…? Of course! Spectra. So have they figured out how to use it?"

"Not that we are aware of." the Chief began, "But …"

Summer saw a tightening around Mark's eyes and a slight shake of his head as he glared at Anderson.

"But, what? … Mark?" Summer reached out and squeezed Mark's arm.

"You don't need to know this." Mark muttered darkly, not meeting her eyes.

Summer swung around and looked at the rest of Mark's teammates and then stared at the Chief.

"What?" She demanded.

Anderson closed his eyes briefly and then began to speak softly.

"Some of the data collected shows that they have some of Mark's biological data, like blood and tissue samples, included with it. It appears that they were doing research to see if they could use biominiopic technology to invade Mark's body."

"What?" Summer whispered in fear. She felt the blood drain from her face as she turned to look at Mark.

"It would really help if you could remember where it was that you saw the term 'biominiopics'." the Chief told her.

"Of course!" Summer replied. "I'd do anything to help Mark."

Summer cringed, expecting a teasing remark from Jason, but none came. The five G-Force members were all staring at her with serious expressions.

"We feel the same way about our Commander." Princess explained.

"I understand." Summer smiled and nodded. "I'll access my report files and see if I can remember where I saw that information."

"I can help with that." Princess offered.

"Thanks. I have a feeling I could use your help." Summer replied.

"Princess, you and the... uh... Summer... access those files and let me know what you discover." Anderson ordered.

"Right away, Chief!" Princess replied, while Summer nodded.

Princess escorted Summer from the room, and down the hallway.

"So... you're really the Swan?" Summer asked nervously. "I've always admired you... in fact..." Summer found herself blushing, "I've always wanted to be like you."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Princess smiled. "But honestly, a lot of the time I wish _I_ could be more like _you_. Go to a real school, hang out with friends, go to the Prom..."

"It's not that great, trust me." Summer rolled her eyes. "I'm sure fighting Spectra is much more exciting."

"It's the kind of excitement I could do without, if you know what I mean." Princess replied. "It's that kind of 'excitement' that is putting Mark's life in danger."

"You're right, Princess." Summer said. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry." Princess said encouragingly. "You're going to help us, and that's what really matters."

"I'll do what I can." Summer promised.

The two young women entered a computer lab, and Princess was immediately recognized and escorted to a private room containing two chairs, a desk, and a private terminal.

"Your files are on your home computer?" Princess asked.

"Yes, but I'm not sure how you're going to access them without..."

But before Summer could finish her sentence, her home computer's desktop popped up on the screen in front of her.

"How did you do that?" Summer was amazed.

"Computer hacking is a hobby of mine." grinned Princess.

"I can see how that would come in useful, in your line of work." replied an impressed Summer.

Summer sat down and began sorting through her files, including records of her internet searches. She could not find any trace of the word 'biominiopic'. But she knew she had seen it during her project work.

Where had it been?

Almost unconsciously, she clicked on a small icon at the top corner of the browser window.

"What's that?" Princess asked. "I don't recall seeing that program anywhere before."

"Oh, it's a database I access sometimes." Summer explained. "It has records from my homeworld. The Spectrans destroyed not only our planet, but all parts of our cultural history that they could get their hands on. But the loyalists who fled Pixtar took all of their information with them, and composed this database, to preserve our heritage."

"What's in it?" Princess asked. But when Summer opened up the program, they both gasped.

The first page that loaded was all about biominiopics.

"What is this?" Princess exclaimed.

"This would be the last page I had open in the database..." Summer told her. "No wonder I remembered the word!"

Immediately, the two girls began reading the article.

"It says that biominiopic technology was used as a way of safeguarding the Tribaldian Royal Line." Princess read. "Their genetic code was imbued with resistance to all kinds of disease, natural and engineered, biological, chemical and mechanical. All blood members of the Tribaldi family have biominiopic particles in their blood. All pregnant women of Tribaldi blood, or women impregnated by Tribaldi males, generate an exceptionally strong variant of these biominiopic particles, in order to pass on these immunities to their babies."

"So... if we could get ahold of a blood sample from the Tribaldi Royal Family, Chief Anderson might be able to develop that kind of immunity for Mark, making him unaffected by the Spectran biominiopics!" Summer deduced excitedly.

"Yes!" Princess agreed, her eyes shining. "We will be able to help Mark after all!"

"But, where are we going to find a member of the Tribaldi Royal Family?" Summer asked.

"Have you forgotten?" Princess asked her gently.

"Me?" Summer's eyes went wide. "But I'm not..." Her words drifted off as she saw Princess' disappointed expression.

"Even if I were," Summer insisted, "I'm not pregnant, so I wouldn't be generating those special biominiopic particles."

"There's only one way to find out." Princess replied. She raised her communicator to her mouth.

"This is Princess, calling Chief Anderson."

The Chief responded through Princess's communicator, "Go ahead Princess."

"We found some interesting information that I think you would like to see."

"Good. We have moved to my office; you can advise me here."

"On our way!" Princess said, pressing a few keys and then shutting down the computer.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As they walked along, Summer said, "You know I'm not too sure about all of this. I really don't think …."

"All we can do is show the information to the Chief and see what he comes up with." Princess explained. "Maybe he knows something else that, when added to the information we found, will give us an entirely new option. The Chief and Mark are like that; they can put little bits of data from one place, together with other findings from somewhere else, and come up with a solution that no one would ever have thought of, before."

As Princess finished her speech they arrived at Chief Anderson's office. Princess nodded to the assistant sitting outside the door, and then walked into Anderson's office, Summer following close behind.

Princess moved right to the Chief's desk and began typing on a terminal saying, "I am sending our findings to the main viewing monitor right now. This is from a Pixtarian cultural database that Summer has access to."

On a screen over the Chief's shoulder came the file that Summer and Princess had been reading. While the others were examining the data, Summer looked around. Chief Anderson appeared to be reading the information from the terminal on his desk. Jason was leaning against a sofa and two others, presumably the Owl and the Swallow, were sitting on that same sofa which was sitting across from the Chief's desk. Summer quickly recognized the two new boys as the ones she had seen sneaking around the Chief's home. She felt a quick flush of embarrassment, recalling what they might have seen on the security cameras, but neither of them were paying any attention to her.

Mark was standing at the side of the desk. As he began reading, Summer stepped towards him and she could see that his jaw was clenched and that there was tension across his shoulders. Obviously something they had been talking about before she had arrived in the room had upset him.

She was reaching towards Mark when Jason stepped forward and demanded in a growl, "What the fuck does all that mean?"

"It means …" began Princess.

However Chief Anderson was responding at the same time, "It means we need a sample of blood from the Tribaldi line, so we can test it to see if this theory is true. It would be even better if we could find a pregnant Tribaldi female, to examine these variant particles."

"And where are we ..?" Jason started and then turned to look at Summer. With a mock bow he said, "Your Highness."

Summer quickly shook her head, "No. I'm not …"

Glancing around she could see everyone looking at her. Summer could feel her anger and frustration grow. She had had enough of this.

"I keep telling you I am not Princess Tribaldi." She snapped at them, before turning to face Jason again. "I told you earlier my last name is Tribaldi, but don't you think I would know if I was a Princess? Don't you think I would know if my father was a … a King?"

The silence that had settled in the room was broken by Jason saying, "So now what?"

"Miss Summer, I think we need to reach your parents to confirm whether or not what you are saying is true." Anderson finally spoke up.

Looking at the Chief, Summer said, "You really don't believe me do you?"

It was Princess who responded with a smile, "We have learned that the Chief will believe his own truths until presented with scientific or mathematical facts to prove him wrong."

After giving a deep sigh, Summer finally agreed.

"Okay, we can call my parents."

"Thank you." Anderson replied. "If we discover that you _are_ a member of the royal line, then if you were to become pregnant, then your body would begin creating these special biominiopic particles. Then, perhaps by extracting a blood sample, we could develop an immunization. Then if we gave it to Mark, he might be protected."

"No!" Mark's eyes blazed at Anderson, as he spoke for the first time since Summer had arrived in the room.

"Mark …" Summer said softly.

Mark eyes flicked to Summer and then returned to glaring at the Chief.

Mark's voice was still tight with anger as he spoke, "Do you know how many 'ifs', 'perhaps' and 'mights' you just said? Why _her_? Certainly there must be other females in the Tribaldi line."

"Mark, at least listen. It is another viable, option if you are not going to let us ground you." Jason said.

Summer heard Princess gasp and she watched every muscle in Mark's body tense as he turned to glare at Jason. She realized this was the conversation that she and Princess had walked in on when they had entered the office.

Looking between the Eagle and the Condor, Summer watched as Jason finally took a step back and leaned against the sofa again before speaking.

"I guess I should have worded that better." he acknowledged.

The Chief's voice broke through the tension.

"Let's take things a step at a time. First we will see what we learn when we speak to Summer's parents. Team, go and rest while we make contact. When we get some new information I will call you back."

Mark turned a cold, hard look on Anderson, before eventually tuning on his heels and striding stiffly out the door. Then Jason took a deep breath before he too moved towards the door.

The Chief's voice stopped him, "Jason, don't annoy him."

"I just…"

"Let him be, Jason." Anderson ordered. "He will see reason if we let him calm down. As I said, we take things a step at a time. Unless Spectra attacks, we have no reason to remove him."

Jason took a quick step back towards the Chief, "He won't let you do that. Confine him to the Phoenix if necessary, but don't remove him from the team."

"And do you really believe he will remain on the Phoenix?"

Jason shrugged while replying, "As you say, once he has calmed down, maybe he will see it as his best option."

The Condor then left the room, followed by the Owl and the Swallow.

Summer turned back towards Anderson's desk. Princess was still standing next to him.

"Chief would you like me to stay?" Princess asked.

Anderson shook his head, "No, you go get some rest as well. I think Miss Summer and I can handle this."

Summer stood nervously next to the Chief. The man intimidated her a great deal, and she had a difficult time not trembling in his presence, particularly now that they were alone together.

"Now, Summer," Anderson lectured her as soon as Princess had left, "it's one thing to insist on denying your birthright when you don't want protection, but quite another when you put Mark's life in jeopardy. If you can help him, you must. That boy is like a son to me, and I won't put his life at risk because of some silly sense of false modesty."

Summer didn't know what to say. Her cheeks flamed bright red and she stared at the ground, swallowing nervously. When she didn't respond, the Chief continued speaking.

"Unfortunately, I have been unable to contact your father. I have learned that he and your mother never arrived at the conference. I hate to tell you in this manner, but you need to know that we suspect that they have been kidnapped by the Spectrans."

"Oh, no!" Summer's hand went to her mouth. "And nothing can be done?"

"We have our best agents working on it." the Chief assured her. "But the mere fact that they are missing strongly indicates that they are members of the royal family. In any case, it's very easy to confirm or dismiss your royal status. All we have to do is give you a simple blood test. We can test your DNA and see whether or not you carry the Tribaldi family's genetic markers, and also if you carry the biominiopics needed to cure Mark."

"I can do that." Summer said slowly. "I would like to help Mark."

"I appreciate that, Summer." Anderson replied, standing up. He walked her to the door, and then down the hall to a small medical clinic, where a blood sample was drawn from Summer's arm.

"You can go and rest, now." the Chief told her. "I gather you have had a long day."

Summer nodded quietly, knowing she was dismissed.

Of course, she had forgotten where her room was to be, and was too afraid to ask the Chief about it. But she saw some signs directing her to 'living quarters' and went that way, hoping she would find someone she could ask. Summer turned, wandering down a long hallway, only to come across a small lounge. The door was open, and someone was sitting inside, in the dark, staring out the window at the dim shadows of fish swimming beyond.

It was clear that the person inside wanted privacy, and Summer was moving away to let them have it, when the figure turned to face her.

It was Mark.

"Summer..." he said.

His voice was cold… detached.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." she said as she stepped away from the door, although she was half hoping he would call her back. When he did not respond she turned and walked further along the hallway.

"Where are you going?" a voice behind her made her jump.

"I … I was just … looking for …" she stammered as she turned.

When she saw it was Mark questioning her she finished more confidently, "I'm not sure what I was looking for actually. The Chief said I could go get some rest but, I am not really sure where to go."

"Well somehow you have made it into the team's private wing. If you could call a corridor a wing." Mark finished with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I guess Anderson forgot that you would need a guide to show you to your room. I glad he did; it meant you found your way here and I kind of… I wanted to speak to you again."

"You did?" Summer said as she felt a pleasant warmth spreading though her body

Mark stepped forward, reached out for her hand and then led her into the conference room and to the seats facing the window.

"Let's talk in here."

He sat down beside her and looked out of the window again, his face becoming remote and expressionless. Summer watched him for awhile, feeling comfort in sitting beside him, but also a little afraid. This was not the strong Eagle whom she had come to know. Nor was the person sitting beside her the warm, friendly boy she had meet at school. This man was … 'lost' did not quite fit.

"Mark?" she asked quietly. He gave a little shudder before focusing on her. "You said you wanted to talk."

"I'm sorry, I was thinking. Did you get through to your parents?"

"No. The Chief said they did not make it to the conference. He suspects they were kidnapped by Spectrans and that that proved to him that they are members of the royal family."

"You still do not agree with him."

"I… No … I don't know what to believe. If my parents are the King and Queen Tribaldi, then why didn't they tell me?"

"I don't know Summer. You will have to ask them that, but my guess would be that they wanted to protect you."

Mark placed his arm over her shoulders and pulled her towards him. Summer relaxed against Mark's chest and placed her head on his shoulder.

After a few moments he asked, "Did Anderson say what our next step would be?"

Summer lifted her head and reached over to touch the bandage on her arm where the blood sample had been taken.

"He is having my blood tested to see if my DNA matches the Tribaldi line." She responded.

"I don't suppose you have any older sisters do you?"

Summer pushed away from Mark and stood up, "What? Why would you want to know that."

"It's just you are still in high school and…"

"So what? I'm not old enough for you? You have to find someone older?" Summer angrily jumped in not letting Mark finish. She moved around the end of the seat they had been sharing and headed to the door. But Mark was suddenly standing in front of her.

"Summer, wait. I didn't mean that." he almost sounded panicked.

As Mark reached out to take her hands in his, Summer pulled back, still hurt and not ready for his comfort.

"So, what _did_ you mean?"

"Please, Summer, sit down so I can explain." Mark said earnestly, his eyes begging.

After a few seconds Summer relented, moved back to the seat and sat down. Mark stood before her and began.

"I didn't say that… what you thought I was saying, I didn't …" he stammered for a moment before stopping altogether. He shook his head and then dropped down onto the seat facing her. Mark took a deep breath and started again.

"Summer I am sorry I upset you. Do you know where this is going? I mean, if you _are_ Princess Tribaldi, do you understand what Anderson and the others will ask of you next?"

This time it was Summer's turn to shake her head.

"Mark I …"

"They are going to ask you to become pregnant. Only a pregnant woman of the Tribaldi line can produce those special biominiopic particles. Summer, you're still in high school and I would never ask that of you. So I was wondering if you had an older sister who might be more … well, willing to become pregnant." Mark ended, his cheeks stained red.

Summer sat and looked at Mark as she processed what he had been saying.

"No, Mark, as far as I know I do not have any sisters." she finally said. "But, I am willing to become pregnant, if it saves you."

Mark reached out for Summer and pulled her against his chest again. After tucking her head under his chin he wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't think you know what you are saying, but you are very brave for saying it, Summer." Mark finally whispered in her ear.

Summer closed her eyes as she let the warmth from Mark's body and his steady heartbeat calm her. For the first time, she realized how tired she was, and she tried to recall when she had last slept. Her tired mind would not respond, it kept drifting, focusing on the heartbeat beneath her ear.

88888

When she awoke a couple of hours later, she was still curled up against Mark's chest, only somehow a blanket was covering her as well. As she sat up the lights flickered on and she could see Mark's was watching her.

"Sleep well?" He asked as he reached out to brush a strand of hair off her cheek.

"Um … I guess so."

"Do you know how much I have come to care for you Summer?" he asked, looking deeply into her eyes. "You are so intelligent, and beautiful. I don't want you to become pregnant before you even leave high school."

"Are you thinking about that again?"

"It's one of the things I have been thinking about all night."

"I told you, Mark, if it keeps you safe, I don't mind."

Summer reached out and placed her hand lightly on his chest, hoping that by touching him, he might feel her commitment. But he glanced away.

"Do you know what the statistics say about teenage moms? I won't let the Chief take the easy path. There _must_ be some other way."

"Mark, the Chief is concerned about you. He's trying to protect you. He's doing what he thinks is best for you."

"Only, his concern is not wanted. He's forgetting what I am trained to do. What he has trained me to do and what I face every time I go out on a mission."

"So, what do you plan on doing?"

"Yes, Mark, what's your plan?" asked Jason from the door to the conference room.

Summer felt the muscles across Mark's chest tense, as she turned and saw Jason and the other three members of the G-Force team standing in the doorway.

"We thought you might like something to eat." Jason said, as he placed a tray on the table in the room. Princess followed behind with another, putting it down next to the first. Jason then came around to stand and glare down at Mark before he spoke again.

"You know, Anderson was concerned you would do something stupid, which is why he wants to ground you."

Summer watched Mark's eyes blaze in response.

"Jason I am not going to…" Mark closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

Mark then turned to look at Summer and calmly said, "If you were not here, then he couldn't use you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Princess, as she came up placed her hands on Mark's shoulders.

When Summer saw that she felt her hackles rise. How dare Princess touch Mark like that? But then she suddenly thought she understood what they were doing. The team was surrounding their Commander, so they could prevent him from leaving.

Summer looked up at Princess and saw a smile on her face. When she looked towards the door she could see the Owl and the Swallow looked eager as well. Summer did not dare look at the Condor yet, so she turned her gaze back to Mark, who had raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You said your parents didn't make it to the conference, correct?"

"Y …Yes." Summer nodded her head. What was going on?

"And that the Chief thought that they might have been kidnapped."

Summer nodded again. Mark turned away from her and looked at Jason.

"So, why don't we go and look for them ourselves?"

When Summer looked up at Jason, he was smiling, and she heard a hushed cheer from the back of the room. Mark's team had _not_ been trying to prevent him from leaving, they had been showing their support and telling him that they wanted to go with him.

They were pulling together as a team.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Summer awoke in the strange bed, blinking blearily at the unfamiliar room. As the events of the previous forty-eight hours began to come back to her, she sighed, rolling over so that she was staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out how she had gotten into this strange situation.

On the surface, it seemed that it was her date with Mark that had caused all of this to happen. But when she thought more about it, she knew that the real problem was that her parents had lied to her about her family heritage. While she had no definite proof, everything that Princess and Chief Anderson were saying fit so neatly in with what she knew about her life. She _was_ a Tribaldi... but of the Royal Family? The Royal Family's identities and location were a secret for their own safety... perhaps it did make sense that her parents had never said anything to her. After all, she was only seventeen, and wouldn't graduate high school for a couple of months yet... if she ever got back to high school, after what she had learned about herself in the last two days.

Summer didn't like Mark's plan to have her leave, so the Chief couldn't 'use' her. Maybe she wanted to be used! Wait, no, that didn't sound right. But she wanted to help Mark. One thing she knew was that even if Mark were against it, she was going to do whatever it took to help him. And if that meant becoming pregnant... it was a scary thought, but something she would think about if the time came.

She contemplated the plans the team had made in the conference room the night before, to find her parents. But even as this crossed her mind, a soft beeping sound came from the night table.

It was the small communication device that Princess had given her last night. It looked like a tiny iPod, and could easily be hidden inside her clothes, but the team was able to speak with her through their communicators if she had it with her.

Yawning, Summer reached over and picked up the device.

"Uh... hi..." she said, uncertain of what kind of protocols this kind of communication required.

"It's Princess. We need you to meet us in the Phoenix Docking Bay. I'll come by your quarters in five minutes, if that's okay."

"You found them?" Summer asked excitedly.

"We think so." Princess confirmed. "We need you along, just in case."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you." Summer replied, ending the communication even as she hopped out of bed and began grabbing some fresh clothes.

When the Swan arrived in full uniform five minutes later, Summer was ready.

When they got to the Phoenix, Summer saw that the other four members of the G-Force team were already at their stations, doing hushed checks. Princess sat down in her position and did a quick check of all the equipment, then reported that she was ready.

"Mark, how long do you think it will take before the Chief reacts?" Princess asked.

"I suspect about the same as last time. He hasn't made any improvements that I could find." Mark said, turning his head to look back at her. Then the Eagle stood up and addressed everyone.

"Okay, Team, we're going to be going out fast. Tiny, as soon as we make it to the jump co-ordinates, you do it. Let's see if we can beat _our_ fastest time."

Mark then turned to look at Summer and motioned for her to come forward, "Sit here, and you had better buckle up."

"Not a good idea Mark." Jason stated and Mark's eyes flicked to him. "You are going to need your seat to do some checks. She would be better back here."

Summer saw Mark give a nod of his head as Jason vacated his usual seat. She smiled gratefully, then sat down and reached for the belt, fastening it around her hips.

When she looked up again, Mark had returned to his seat and was calling back, "Jase, can you time us from there?"

"Sure, Skipper." he called from his spot leaning against the back wall. He turned to work at a control panel next to him.

"Ready?" the Eagle gave a final look around the flight deck, getting nods from everyone before he pressed a button and exclaimed, "Go!"

Water began pouring around the Phoenix, and Summer could hear the engines on the ship roar to life as the Owl pressed buttons and moved levers.

"Clamps released!" the Eagle declared, and Summer felt the ship begin its forward motion. Next she was pushed back hard into the seat as the Phoenix launched full power into the sea and then up and into the air.

"Thirty seconds." the Condor declared.

"Incoming transmission. From the Chief, Commander." announced the Swan.

"He's as slow as last time!" Mark declared. "Keep going, Tiny. Destination set. Remember, as soon as we get into Jump position, punch it."

The Eagle turned his head further to look at the Swan, "Put the Chief through."

As Anderson's face appeared on the screen, Mark smiled.

"Good morning to you, Chief, I hope we didn't get you up at a bad time."

"Mark? I don't recall issuing an order for the Phoenix to leave dock."

"Oh. I guess Timon did not pass on the message that we wanted to take the Phoenix out on a maintenance flight this morning."

"Commander, you have been confined to base." Anderson reminded him coldly.

Summer heard a gasp from the Swan to her left at the same time as Mark said, "Chief…."

Then the Chief was ordering, "Commander! Re…"

A lurch of the ship made Summer grab for the cushions of her chair and squeeze her eyes tight. She heard the Owl call out, "Jumping!" and then she was trying to convince her stomach its proper spot was in her abdomen and not her throat.

When she had finally succeeded in that small task, Summer opened her eyes, only to see Mark standing beside his chair head down, eyes closed and jaw clenched tight. The Condor quickly stepped forward.

"Mark?"

"If I didn't hear the order, then I can't disobey it... Right?" the Eagle proclaimed. Mark's eyes then sought out Jason's.

"What was our time?" he asked.

"Forty-seven seconds."

"Yeah! Two seconds faster than last time!" the Swallow crowed from Summer's right.

Summer quickly stood up, returning the Condor's seat to him, then moving to the back of the Bridge where she could remain out of the way. She understood why the team wanted her along, but she wasn't fooling herself. She was a liability on this mission, and the last thing she wanted was to be 'in the way'. Summer watched silently as the Swan opened a communications channel as they were passing by the Planet Pluto.

"Susan, this is Princess." she said. "Can you send over the data I asked you about last night?"

"Transmitting..." came a husky whisper out of the control panel. Summer blinked in confusion. Who was this Susan?

"Reception confirmed." the Swan reported. "Thank you, Susan."

"You're welcome, Princess." the husky female voice replied. "Please say 'Hello' to Zark for me."

Zark? Who was Zark? Summer shuddered. The very name sent shivers down her spine. Somehow, she suspected that she was better off not knowing.

"I will, Susan." the Swan responded, before terminating the connection.

"Breet... broop... what does it... dreet... say?" asked the Swallow.

"It just confirms what we already suspected." the Swan said, increasing the volume of her voice slightly so that everyone could hear her. "King and Queen Tribaldi contacted the Plutonian Outpost as they left the Solar System enroute to the conference on Riga. We know that they never made it to Riga. So clearly, they disappeared somewhere in between."

"And we also know that there are no planets close along that route." the Condor reminded them. "No base of operations from which to stage an attack."

"Unless, it was staged from a mobile base." the Eagle pointed out. "The Spectrans could have had a mecha attack their transport ship."

"Broot... a mecha... breet... that Susan... doot... didn't find?" the Swallow asked disbelievingly. "Mechas... doot... huge..."

"It's not out of the realm of possibility." the Swan said quietly. "The Spectrans may have developed a new stealth technology that cloaks their ships so that we can't locate them."

"But if they had that kind of technology, why haven't they attacked the Earth with it, already?" the Condor asked.

"Mutogenic particles!" Summer exclaimed loudly.

"What?" the Condor turned back to glare at her.

"Don't mutogenic particles temporarily cloak ships that pass through them?" Summer asked, suddenly unnerved at being the subject of scrutiny by one of the most dangerous men in the Federation.

"Those particles are unstable!" the Condor snorted.

"But..." Summer summoned up all of her courage to continue speaking, even though every instinct was telling her to curl up in a tiny ball to escape the steely grey gaze of the G-Force Weapons Officer. "But if there were a steady stream of them, then the ones that became unstable would be replaced by fresh ones, and the cloaking effect would be maintained!"

"Could Spectra have developed a way of manufacturing such particles?" the Eagle asked.

"It's possible," the Swan admitted, "but highly unlikely. Manufactured mutogenic particles tend to have an extremely short life. They dissipate within a few seconds. Not long enough to create an effective cloaking field."

"Asteroid!" the Swallow jumped out of his chair, dancing happily as he shared his inspiration with the others. "Broop... mutogenic asteroid!" he burbled.

"A mutogenic asteroid?" the Owl was confused. "I've never heard of anything like that..."

"They're extremely rare." the Swan admitted. "But they have been known to happen. Why just last week at the high school I was reading about..."

The Swan's voice suddenly trailed off, and her head whipped around to look at Summer.

"I... I told you all I was working on a science project." Summer whispered. "It was about mutogenic particles. I won first place at the Science Fair."

The Swan nodded respectfully at Summer. "You deserved it." she said. "Your analysis was quite thorough."

The Condor appeared skeptical. "You really think one of these mutogenic asteroids...?"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence as the Swallow leapt up gleefully.

"Breoop... got it!" he crowed. "There!"

Everyone but the Owl crowded around the Swallow's station, looking at where his red-gloved finger was pointing. The boy was indicating a spot on a galactic map, about fifty parsecs from Riga.

A spot currently occupied by a mutogenic asteroid.

"Okay! We found this mutogenic asteroid, now what?" The Condor growled.

Everyone stood in silence, either looking at the screen, or looking at the Eagle. Finally, a frustrated Jason snapped.

"Mark!"

The Eagle gave his head a slight shake, before turning to glare at Jason. "I need more information. Keyop, this scanner you are using, can it read through the mutogenic particles and tell us what is on the asteroid?" Keyop looked at his monitor.

"Breet ... maybe ... doot ... with adjustments."

"Try. I need as much information as you can give me. What does the asteroid look like? Is there atmosphere? Where are the people on it? How many? Can we differentiate between Spectrans and others? I want to know if are we dealing with a full-on Spectran base, or just a hidey-hole." The Eagle's eyes turned to the Owl.

"How long until we reach the asteroid Tiny?"

"Fifteen minutes, Commander."

"Keyop, you have eight to get me as much information as you can." Mark then turned towards Jason.

"Is that enough action for you for now, Condor?" Jason only smirked in response, and Mark grinned, a strange glint in his eye. "Oh, and Keyop, maybe Jason would like to help you. He would probably enjoy searching for some weaknesses of this asteroid, in case we need to use a missile."

The Condor mumbled as he was given his orders, but he followed them just the same. Summer's already enormous level of respect for Mark went up another notch. To have a man as frightening as the Condor obey him without question... the title of 'Commander' seemed very appropriate, at this point.

"The asteroid is definitely surrounded by a mutogenic field." the Swan reported. "The particles seem to be emanating from the surface. I would guess that this asteroid is a piece of a planet destroyed by mutogenic radiation from parts of the Tarantula Nebula. Its composition appears to be fairly dense, which supports that theory."

"Dreet... can't... droot... scan..." the Swallow burbled.

"The mutogenic field is preventing a computer scan." the Condor clarified. "We'll have to perform a visual scan."

"Tiny, bring us into range." the Eagle ordered. "Jason, get back to your station. We may need you if we find something unexpected."

Summer sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and watching with wide eyes. She could sense that the tension on the Bridge had just gone sky high, as they were entering this unknown and potentially hostile situation. She knew it was dangerous, but she trusted Mark to lead them all through this.

The asteroid appeared on the viewscreen, and everyone gasped as they got their first look at it. Eight minutes later, Summer watched as the Eagle approached the Swallow's seat.

"What have you found?" the Commander asked.

"Analysis shows …. breep…. asteroid is larger …. dreeeep … than thought. Mutogenic Particles brooop …. altering it."

"Larger? How much larger?"

"Droot … small base …. broot ….inside. No … briiiip … surface atmosphere."

"If there is a base inside, then there must be atmosphere and oxygen inside." Mark noted. "Have you been able to find out how many people are in there?

"Dreeeep …. No. Sorry." Keyop said sadly. "Particles …. droot …. hard to scan …. doot ….through."

"I understand, Keyop. You did a great job. Next question: how do we get in there? How did _they_ get in there?"

"I've got that!" Jason said from the terminal at which he had been working. The Condor was tapping his screen. "There's the point of entry."

Mark nodded his head to acknowledge what Jason was saying. Summer could see that the Eagle was pleased with this new information, and even though he was gazing at the asteroid on the forward view screen, she could see he was not so much looking at it as he was analyzing and formulating a plan.

"Five minutes, Commander!" Tiny's comment appeared to snap the Eagle out of his deep thoughts.

"Any sign that we have been spotted yet?" Mark asked, looking around at his team.

"No." responded the Swan.

Mark's eyes settled on the Condor as he spoke his thoughts aloud.

"A small base. Probably no more than one hundred Spectran goons, maybe less: barely enough to keep it operational. Plus the crew on the ship that kidnapped King and Queen Tribaldi."

Mark's eyes flicked up to the forward screen and then back to Jason's terminal before continuing. "Probably only two levels if they go with the standard atrium-based main room."

"Okay, Team," the Commander continued, "we'll take the Phoenix directly in. Sorry, Tiny, but that means you need to stay onboard. We cannot afford to leave the Phoenix unprotected inside an enemy base." The Eagle's eyes flicked to Summer before he finished. "Especially since we have a guest on board."

"Jason, you, Princess, and Keyop are going to find the Operations Center. Download any information and then set explosive charges for twenty minutes from the time we leave the Phoenix. We do not want Spectra able to use this asteroid again. I am going to be looking for King Tribaldi."

Summer shrank back against the wall as the Condor sprang from his seat with icy narrowed eyes and planted a hand on the Eagle's chest, forcing Mark to take a step backwards.

"Like hell you are!" Jason hissed. "Didn't you hear the Chief? If Spectra gets any of those biominiopic Particles into your blood stream, you will die!"

"Jason, do you really think Zoltar is going to have a tiny base like that filled with high ranked troops, sitting around waiting for _me_? …_Us_? If I remember correctly, Spectra doesn't even know which one of us they have a blood match for."

"You are _not_ going in alone." the Condor growled, as he took another step closer to the Eagle.

"I need directions! We're here." Tiny called over the Condor's voice.

Remembering how she had felt when subjected to Jason's cold gaze, Summer wondered how the Eagle could withstand the Condor's stare as the two continued their icy glowering at each other. Finally, Mark spoke.

"Fine. You and Princess, will set the charges. Keyop and I will look for the database and see what information we can gather. We will _all_ keep an eye out for the Royal couple."

"Better. I still don't…" Jason started.

"Send the entrance coordinates to Tiny so we can get in there before Spectra realizes we are even here." the Eagle commanded, with one final look at the Condor.

As the Condor turned back to his station, the Eagle turned and stepped towards Summer. She could see the barest hint of a smile on his lips, as he took her hand.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here." he reassured in a whisper as he reached out and touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

"Are you coming, Commander?" Princess asked.

Over Mark's shoulder, Summer could see the Swan, the Condor and the Swallow gathered on the platform again. Before Mark joined them he whispered quietly to her.

"I promise, we will bring your parents back safely."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Summer watched as the four were raised up into the bubble and the ship raced towards the asteroid. She watched everything happening on the viewscreen, a feeling of unreality grabbing ahold of her mind. As soon as they were inside the giant space rock, and even as the Phoenix was setting down, she saw the four of them leap off of the Phoenix.

Mark and Keyop landed on the ground and moved toward a pair of ships on the opposite side of the hanger. Jason and Princess leapt up and onto a balcony above the Phoenix.

After she felt the slight bounce of the ship, Tiny turned towards her waving his hand at Mark's seat.

"Why don't you sit up here?" he offered. "You will get a better view, and it's probably more comfortable than standing there for the next fifteen minutes."

The Owl went back to touching switches. As she moved towards the chair, she never really took her eyes off of the point where she had seen Mark disappear. The Owl broke into her thoughts again.

"I don't usually enjoy remaining on the Phoenix, but I have a feeling this time Mark may be right. We may need to make a quick get away this time, and my being out there would slow that down."

Suddenly, the hanger was plunged into darkness as the lights went out. The Phoenix's external microphones picked up the sound of multiple rifles being cocked and loaded.

"Come on out, Owl!" cackled a strange voice. "We know you're there, because we saw the other four leave."

The viewscreen was still dark, and neither Summer nor Tiny could see anything outside of the Phoenix.

"There's no way I'm going out!" Tiny declared. "What are they going to do, shoot the Phoenix? Like their puny rifles would even make a dent in it!"

But although the Owl's words were confident, his demeanor was far from it. His eyes darted nervously back and forth across the control panels.

"This is your last chance, Owl..." the voice announced.

"They can't do anything." Tiny reassured Summer.

But even as the words left his mouth, a strange green gas began coming in through the vents at the top of the bridge. The metal openings began melting before Tiny and Summer's astonished eyes.

"Acid!" the Owl gulped. "It will destroy the Phoenix!"

"What are you going to do?" Summer asked nervously.

"I... I have to go out." Tiny hung his head. "I can't risk you getting hurt too. They don't know you're here. You need to hide. When the rest of the Team comes back, let them know what happened."

"I..." Summer's voice cracked.

The green acidic gas clouds were getting stronger. Summer's skin began to burn, and she sagged to the ground.

"I'm going!" Tiny announced, stepping on the elevation platform.

The moment it began to rise, the gas stopped, and the air inside of the Phoenix cleared. Summer stood up, frantically looking for a place to hide...

Summer knew she had been told to hide, but she really wanted to see what was happening. No, she _needed_ to see what was happening. She couldn't let Tiny get hurt because of her! Then she remembered what Mark had said when they were in the Medical Bay.

"_I can not think of a safer place on Earth than the Phoenix. No Spectran has ever gotten onboard her." _

Maybe she _was_ really safe here. Especially now that that acidic gas had dissipated.

As she glanced down, Summer noticed a niche under the terminal at Mark's station. If she had to, she could kneel down in there and she would be hidden by they chair, at least from a quick observation.

When Summer heard laughter over the radio, she turned and looked up at the monitors. As the Owl had been raised up to the surface of the Phoenix, the lights in the hanger had gradually been turned on. Now, Summer could see on the monitor that the second level balcony was filled with Spectran guards all pointing their weapons toward the Phoenix and the Owl was standing and looking up at someone.

"What are you supposed to be a Thunder Cloud?" Tiny asked, laughing. Summer heard someone answer, presumably the person to whom the Owl was speaking.

"You don't have time to ask questions. You will follow my orders. Now get up here."

"Ahh!" The Owl appeared to look down at something on the ground. "Umm! … I'm not sure I can do that."

"You're … What?" screeched the voice from above.

"Well, yeah! You see, I'm not as athletic as the others. I tend to have a hard time jumping _up_. Now down… "

Again, the Owl was looking down at the floor, but this time Summer thought she saw a flash of white between the two space cruisers opposite the Phoenix.

"Not very likely, Owl. Now get up here."

"If you insist." the Owl said as he took two steps and launched himself into the air.

Only, instead of coming down gracefully on his feet, as Summer had seen the others do, the Owl landed on top of two men, stumbled, and knocked another two screaming goons over the railing.

In an instant, goons seemed to be dropping everywhere as Summer saw the Eagle and Swallow jump up to join the fray. Then the Condor and Swan dropped from the ceiling rafters. She was surprised at how quickly the balcony was cleared. It seemed like only a few seconds before Mark's voice was calling out.

"Good job! Anyone notice in which direction the Captain ran off??"

Summer looked around, startled, and realized that the reason that she had been able to hear Mark's words so clearly was because the Bridge of the Phoenix was somehow being broadcast everything that was sent out on the G-Force team's bracelets.

"He went out over there." the Swan responded, pointing to a door opposite them.

"Okay, Condor, Swan, finish your job. Swallow, get back to that terminal we found and see what you can do with it." Summer watched as the three ran off to complete their assignments, and then Mark turned to the Owl.

"Owl, was there a problem in the Phoenix?"

"They were pumping in acidic gas. As I was on the lift, it was already clearing."

"I am going to follow the Base Captain. I have a feeling he's going to lead us to the King and Queen. He may try to use them as hostages."

"You mean _these_ hostages?" a voice sneered out.

The Eagle turned and Summer's eyes traced the direction he was facing. She gasped as she saw her parents surrounded by the Base's Captain and eight Spectran Blackbirds. She watched as six of the Blackbirds spread out to either side of the Captain, while two stayed at her parents' sides. Anther radio chirped, making her jump, and then she heard the Owl's voice.

"Condor, we have a problem here. We have Blackbirds. Eight of them."

"What? The Swan and I are done here, give us a moment and we'll be right there." the Condor responded abruptly.

"Release the hostages to us, and we will let you go." the Eagle said to the Spectran Captain.

"I don't think so, Commander." the Spectran laughed evilly.

"I suspected you wouldn't agree." the Eagle sighed. "But I had to attempt a peaceful solution, all the same."

"Why insist on a peaceful solution?" the Spectran cackled. "I would be most happy to have you die."

"What makes you think _we're_ the ones who are going to die?" the Owl retorted.

"Because if you fight back, we'll kill the King and Queen."

Summer gasped. The two hostages held by the Blackbirds were indeed her parents, and they weren't protesting the assumption of the Spectrans that they were royalty. A tear trickled down of Summer's eye as she _finally_ accepted the truth.

She _was_ a Princess, for all of the good it was doing her now. She was hiding under a console, completely useless, unable to help either her parents or Mark.

"However, I'm sure we could come to a different arrangement." the Spectran announced.

"What's that?" the Eagle asked suspiciously.

"We don't really want the King and Queen." the Spectran revealed. "The Queen isn't of Tribaldi blood, and the King is too old to be of 'use'... but we'd be willing to exchange them both for their daughter..."

"No!" the Eagle shouted, not allowing the Spectran to finish his sentence.

"But we would safely return the hostages to you, and even allow you to depart with them, unmolested." the Captain smiled thinly. "Surely _one_ girl is worth that much..."

_This_ was something she could do. Summer stood up, making her way over to the elevation platform on the Bridge. She didn't relish the idea of being held prisoner by the Spectrans, but if it would save her parents, she would gladly exchange herself for them. She knew that Mark would do his best to rescue her, when no one else's lives were at risk. She pressed the buttons she had seen the Owl use, and the platform began to rise.

At the top of the Phoenix, she was surrounded by a clear dome, which began to retract the moment she had ascended.

"I accept your offer!" she shouted loudly. "Let my parents go!"

"Excellent..." smiled the Captain, rubbing his hands together. "Lord Zoltar will be most pleased."

"Summer, no!" the Commander shouted, and a white streak blurred through the air, coming straight for Summer's position. At the same time, six streaks of black came from the other direction, and suddenly Summer was surrounded by Blackbirds. The Eagle growled menacingly, finding his attempt to reach her thwarted.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted threateningly. But the Blackbirds just laughed in the Eagle's face.

"We have something else for you, Commander." the lead Blackbird laughed harshly, throwing a small metallic ball in the Eagle's direction. A cloud of gas surrounded his white form, and Summer could see Mark falling to the hull of the Phoenix, clutching his arms to himself in pain.

"What did you do to him?" asked Summer fearfully, as she looked from the lead Blackbird to the Base Captain and back.

"Don't worry your Highness." the Blackbird sneered. "The gas was only an acidic compound. With his first breath it probably burned his throat. If we're lucky it might even have made its way into his lungs. It is in twelve hours that the real fun will begin for him."

Summer's eyes filled with fear as she looked from Mark, who was still lying on his side in a near fetal position, back to the Blackbird.

"What do you mean?" she whispered reluctantly. She really did not _want_ to know, because she sensed what was probably coming.

"Maybe you should ask your Father about biominiopic particles." the Blackbird laughed savagely.

"No! You can't …."

The next thing Summer knew, she had pushed herself between two of the Blackbirds and was on her knees beside Mark, reaching out to him, hoping to comfort him. As her hand touched his face, Mark's eyes snapped open. He quickly pulled her against him and burrowed her head to his shoulder.

Even as Summer heard the first sounds of alarm from the Blackbird leader, Mark was already rolling their bodies toward the edge of the Phoenix, where he pushed off. Suddenly, they were flying down to the ground, Mark's wings open wide to catch the air currents in the large hangar.

She barely had time to gasp and clutch tightly at Mark's chest before they had landed and the Eagle grasped her hand, starting to move toward the back wall. As they ran, Mark raised his wrist and shouted.

"Protect the King and Queen! Get them to the Phoenix!"

When they reached the far wall, Mark swung Summer around and pressed her back up against a stack of containers.

"Don't move." he ordered, before turning his back to her and facing into the hanger as two Blackbirds dropped down in front of him.

"Well, Commander, you are causing us a bit of trouble. You're going to die anyway. Why don't you give us the girl now, and be done with it?"

"I don't think so." the Eagle replied coldly, moving into a defensive stance.

The Blackbirds advanced, and the fight began. Watching the Eagle move was almost like watching a dance. His movements were smooth and flowing, yet perfectly controlled. The way his arms, legs and body were sweeping, it looked like an advanced form of Tai Chi: effortless and elegant. Summer found she could not summon the words to describe what she was seeing. Even through the violence, the Commander's movements were graceful and beautiful to the eye.

Summer was unaware of how much time passed while she watched the fight, but eventually the two Blackbirds were dead at the Eagle's feet. The Commander then looked up toward the ceiling and raised his wrist communicator to his mouth.

"Report!" he ordered.

"The Owl and the Swallow got the King and Queen safely to the Phoenix. The Swan and I have just disposed of the Blackbird Leader. We have six down, two are still …"

"I have dealt with those two down here. Head back to the Phoenix, I'll meet you there."

The Eagle lowered his arm and when he turned to face Summer, she could see three bloody slashes across his ribs. Summer wanted to ask if he was all right, but something in his eyes made her avoid the question.

The Eagle motioned her forward and they walked back to the Phoenix.

"Put your arms around my neck." he instructed her.

"Wh …Why?" she stammered.

"We have to get back up there again." Mark replied with a smile.

"Up …?" Summer's raised her eyes to look up at the Phoenix, staring wide-eyed at Mark. The Eagle gave a chuckle.

"Come on. It's almost as much fun as coming down."

With Summer in his arms, Mark made the leap to the top of the Phoenix. Within moments they were descending into the ship where Summer heard her parents' voices. She tensed realizing that she wasn't entirely certain how she felt about seeing them just yet.

"Where is our daughter? And what the hell was she doing on this ship?" her father was demanding.

By now, even Summer knew it was not a good idea to throw careless demands around at the Condor. She held Mark's hand nervously as the elevation platform descended onto the Bridge of the Phoenix, but the moment she saw her parents she ran over to them, only to be engulfed in a joyful embrace.

"Summer!" her mother shouted tearfully. "What are you doing here? I was so worried for you..."

"Last we heard, you were in the hospital!" her father said sternly. "Why aren't you there?"

"Well..." Summer looked around nervously. "Mark said that I shouldn't be alone in the hospital, and that I should come to stay with the Chief..."

"The Chief? Who is the Chief?" her father asked angrily. "And Mark... isn't he the boy you went out with? You went to stay at his house after one date?" The veins in Summer's father's neck were beginning to bulge out. He stumbled slightly, and Summer's mother let go of her daughter to support him. Now that Summer thought about it, her mother was looking rather pale too.

"Looks like Mark's going to be the one in trouble, for a change." snickered Jason. Princess elbowed the Condor sharply and his face immediately took on a contrite expression.

"Galaxy Security Chief Anderson." the Eagle stated, stepping forward. "Summer was placed into his care. He already suspected that she was Princess Tribaldi. Do you know, your Highness, why Summer was in the hospital?"

"They said she got caught in a fire..." Summer's mother volunteered. "We didn't get much of a message, because by then we were almost out of communications range." Beads of sweat appeared on her brow, and she wiped them away unconsciously, her eyelids drooping with fatigue.

"To be more specific, she got caught in the destruction of a Spectran base." the Eagle elaborated. "She was kidnapped by Spectrans while out for the evening, and we were able to rescue her. The Chief figured out why she was being targeted, and decided to keep an eye on her."

"That still doesn't explain why she's on this ship!" Summer's father shouted. "What the hell is she doing here? Shouldn't she be safe back on Earth under watch by Galaxy Security?"

"She insisted on helping us find you." the Commander replied. His tone was quiet, but firm. "If it hadn't been for her, we might not have been able to locate this base."

"But don't you realize what could have happened?" Summer's father gasped. "They've infected us, and they could have infected her too..."

Summer watched, horrified, as her father fell to his knees, her mother collapsing next to him.

"Daddy!" she cried. "What's wrong?" Frantically she looked around. "Help him!"

The Swan was at her side, and the Condor was already rushing from the Bridge, only to come back a moment later with a medical kit.

"You can't help us..." Summer's father gasped. "The Spectrans extracted our blood, and used it to make a virus targeted to our individual DNA. You see, my bloodline has unique properties..."

"I know." Summer said. "Biominiopic particles. Chief Anderson told me. He also said that you were... a King?"

"He is right." confirmed her father. "I am _King_ Tribaldi. I am so sorry we never told you, Summer, but we were trying to hide. We didn't want to run the risk of being found out, by the Spectrans. As someone who carries Royal blood in her veins, you are a very valuable commodity..."

"We wanted to tell you." her mother added. "We were planning on doing so in a couple of months, when you graduated from high school. You are a beautiful, intelligent young woman, Summer, and we couldn't be more proud of you..."

Queen Tribaldi suddenly stiffened, and her eyes rolled back into her head.

"My love..." sobbed King Tribaldi, then he too fell to the floor.

"They're alive," Princess quickly reassured Summer, "but they've fallen into some kind of comatose state. Jason, help me get them to Medical Bay, now!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The remainder of the journey back to Earth was tense and somber. Summer sat with her parents in the Medical Bay, doing her best not to get in the way of the Swan and the Condor who were attempting to treat them, but really could do nothing more than take their blood, run it through the Phoenix's computer systems, and transmit the resulting analysis to Chief Anderson at Center Neptune.

Summer only barely managed to hold back the tears that threatened to overflow onto her face. Why had this happened? What had her parents done to incur Spectra's enmity such that those aliens would create a virus targeted specifically to her parents?

It turned out that Chief Anderson had the answer.

The moment they arrived at Center Neptune, he was there to greet them. He supervised the transfer of King and Queen Tribaldi to the Center Neptune Medical Center, then turned to Summer and the team.

"Clearly, we need to discuss the near-mutinous behavior of the G-Force Team, this morning." the Chief said, glaring at the Commander. "But right now there are more important concerns. It would appear that the Spectrans used biominiopic particles from King Tribaldi's blood to create a super-virus. When combined with the blood of the victim before infection, it creates a disease that immediately begins destroying cells in the victim's body. Literally, King and Queen Tribaldi are rotting from the inside out."

"What?" Summer felt faint.

"The only way we can think of to reverse the process, is with the special mutating biominiopic particles that are generated in the bloodstream of a pregnant women of the Royal Tribaldi bloodline." the Chief continued. "Those particles are designed to overcome any form of illness or disease, and modify themselves to do so. It is the perfect solution."

"However," he continued, staring directly at Summer, "we _need_ those particles."

"I..." Summer stuttered nervously.

"Chief!" Mark protested. "You're saying..."

"I'm saying that Summer is the only one who can help us all right now." the Chief stated. "Not only can we create a cure to help her parents, but we can also use those particles to develop a vaccine, so that everyone in the Federation can be protected."

"How long do my parents have?" Summer asked.

"It seems that the virus acts very quickly." the Chief replied. "Based on the rate of cell degradation, I would guess that your parents were infected about eight hours ago. If we hadn't taken matters into our own hands, they would have only another four, at most."

"What do you mean, taking matters into our own hands?" Mark asked.

"It seems that the rate of progression of the virus can be slowed somewhat by cold temperatures." Anderson revealed. "Right now we are putting Summer's parents through a cryogenic freezing process, which will give them another few weeks before the progress of the virus is irreversible."

"But... Mark was also infected..." Summer gasped, feeling faint.

"What?" Jason shouted, confronting the Eagle. "Is this true?"

"I don't know." Mark admitted. "I breathed in some kind of strange gas."

"The Blackbirds said that he would die in twelve hours!" Summer cried hysterically. She collapsed, caught by the strong arms of the Commander, and found herself sobbing into his chest.

"We need to get you to Medical immediately, Commander." Anderson said. He was already calling ahead for testing supplies to be made ready, even as he pulled the Eagle out of the room with him.

Summer sat in the Chief's office for an hour with the Eagle's four, mostly silent, teammates. She could read the stress on the Owl's face and could see that at any moment the Swallow might burst into tears. The Swan held the Swallow close, although she too looked ready to cry. It made Summer wonder if she might be showing her emotions that plainly as well.

The Condor glared and paced from the bubble window to the Chief's desk, then to the door and then back again to the window. Occasionally, she could hear him growling to himself that he should never have let Mark off of the Phoenix during this mission.

When Anderson returned, Mark was following behind reservedly. After Mark closed the door, he continued to stand beside it while the Chief moved to his desk.

"Mark?" Jason questioned harshly, looking towards his Commander.

Summer saw Mark turn towards the Condor, but not look him in the eye.

"Well?" Jason demanded, turning to the Chief. The tone of his voice was even more hostile than before.

"The tests show that Mark has been infected."

Jason charged at the Eagle, grabbing the front of his shirt in his fists and roughly pushing him against the door. He used his forearms to hold the Eagle in place as he shouted at him.

"You stupid idiot! Why the hell did you leave the Phoenix when you knew the risks? Instead you had to go in and act the hero, didn't you?"

Summer, who had stood up at the announcement, could see Mark's eyes blazing with anger briefly, before the emotion flickered out.

"Don't do this to me!" Jason savagely whispered. "Mark, do you hear me? Don't do this to me! I am _not_ taking Command. Not _this_ way." Jason roughly pushed Mark away. Upon releasing the Eagle, the Condor then turned to the Chief.

"How long does he have?" he asked.

"Mark's Cerebonics are fighting, and slowing down the disease, but eventually Mark will become exhausted and then they will fail. At that point, the disease will be free to run its course."

"You didn't answer my question. _How long_?" Jason asked, louder this time.

"We are not exactly certain at this time, but three to five days, depending on a number of factors, such as his level of activity and maintaining sustenance. As long as he remains inactive and eats well, his Cerebonics will not have to assist in those areas and they can focus on fighting the disease. The more strain that is put on his Cerebonics, the less time it will be before they fail."

Summer had been listening to what the Chief had to say, but she had kept her eyes on Mark the entire time.

"And you say that the only way to save him is by taking these particles from me." She stated matter of factly. She hesitated only a moment before speaking again.

"Then, I'll do it."

Summer walked up to Mark and looked into his eyes. She could see a number of emotions running through them: fear, pain, love, hurt, and then fear again. He opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing, instead shaking his head slowly back and forth. Summer reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to stop shaking his head and to look at her.

"Mark, I love you. I am willing to do this, to save you." she whispered, but she could tell that he was still fighting the idea, "I am _also_ doing this to save my parents, and the Chief said that it was the only way to save all the people of the Federation, because he can create a vaccine to the Spectran virus, using my blood samples."

When Mark closed his eyes, Summer knew that she had gotten through to him. She turned to face the Chief, her hands sliding down to rest lightly on Mark's chest. "What happens now?"

"In a nutshell, first we are going to have to run some tests. Then you will probably need to undergo some special treatments to help you produce the correct hormones. After that, you will need to be impregnated. The article I was reading from the Pixtarian database stated that after successful conception, it will be two to three days before your body begins producing the biominiopic particles. At that time, we will be able to begin extracting them and producing the vaccine."

"Three days? But you said Mark only has three days." Summer protested.

"I said Mark has up to five days, if he does not strain himself." Anderson said authoritatively. "If necessary, we can put him into cryogenic stasis as well."

Summer felt Mark's body tremble slightly underneath her hands with that statement and she looked from the Chief to the Eagle and back. She stepped away from Mark.

"Okay, let's get started."

"Chief! How do you expect to impregnate her?" the Eagle spoke for the first time since he had arrived in the room.

"There are various approaches for that, but right now…"

"I would be willing to volunteer." Jason interrupted eagerly.

Summer felt a shift at her side and when she looked at him she saw that Mark had pulled himself up tall and was glaring at Jason through narrowed eyes.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Well, if you really don't know what it entails, I can see I probably should be the one to do it." the Condor sneered sarcastically.

Summer watched as Mark's entire demeanor changed. His calm self control quickly turned into a rage as he charged at the Condor.

"Jason, I am so fucking tired of your innuendos implying that I know nothing about women! I …."

Then the room was a swirl of colors, bodies and yelling as Keyop, Tiny and Princess moved to separate the fighting pair.

"Jason, Mark! Stop!" Anderson shouted.

When things eventually came to a halt, Princess was standing with one hand firmly pressed against Jason's chest, while Tiny was behind Mark, holding him by hooking an arm around his chest and using the other to hold his shoulder. The Eagle was still glaring at the Condor when he twisted his body and took a step toward his Second in Command.

"Mark, no!" the Chief quickly ordered. Mark narrowed his eyes and growled.

"Stay the hell away from me, Condor. And that goes double for Summer!" He turned on his heels, storming out of the office.

Princess finally spoke, "Jason, what was all that about? What were you trying to prove? I can't believe how insensitive you are, poking fun at a time like this! Can't you see Mark is scared?"

Summer watched Princess take a deep breath to continue when her eyes widened in sudden realization.

"You're scared too." Princess murmured, surprised.

Keyop raised a hand to his face to wipe away a tear.

"Jason …. broop …. stupid thing ….droot…. told us not to …. breep … upset him."

Trying to wipe away the last of the tension, Chief Anderson finally spoke.

"We are _all_ scared, but Mark will be fine. He will fight this. And we know how to slow the disease down, so he has a very good chance at surviving." He turned to Summer.

"Your Highness, perhaps we should go and begin running those tests on you." he said, leading her to the door of his office. The rest of the G-Force team were left behind as Chief Anderson took Summer down to the Medical Clinic.

When she stepped out of the Clinic, Princess was waiting for her.

"The Chief thought it might be a good idea if I bought you to our living quarters."

"Will … Is Mark there?"

"We haven't seen him since he left the Chief's office." Princess sadly shook her head. The Swan looked at Summer and must have seen the concern she felt because Princess continued in a reassuring voice.

"Don't worry, he hasn't left here." she told Summer. "His communicator tells us that he is still in the base. I think he needs to be by himself for a bit." Princess looked at Summer before she said with a grin, "But I think I know what will help bring him out of his mood. Come on, I'll help you locate him."

Half an hour later, Summer was beginning to get discouraged. She and Princess had looked everywhere they could think of in the Space Center, and Mark was nowhere to be found.

"I guess he has to be in the Research Center." Princess shrugged. "But I'm not sure why he'd go there. It's just full of laboratories, and Zark is there. Although, I'm not sure why he would want to go and see Zark..."

Summer had no idea who or what Zark was, but the way Princess said the word sent chills down her spine. She decided she didn't want to know.

"Still, since we've checked everywhere here, I guess we should look." Summer suggested.

They glanced through the labs in that part of the base, but there was still no sign of Mark. Finally, they walked down a long corridor to an isolated part of the Research Center.

"I'm going to ask Zark if he's seen Mark." Princess said. "You stay out here in the hallway. Zark gets just a little bit _too_ excited when he meets someone new."

"Uh... okay..." Summer replied, glad for the reprieve. Princess went through a small doorway, and Summer found herself alone. Bored, she continued wandering down the hallway.

The corridor wound around for a long time, becoming very narrow in spots, and briefly, Summer wondered if she should go back. Surely Princess was done talking to this Zark by now. But at this point she wanted to find out where the hallway went.

After another minute or so of walking, the narrow passageway arrived at a set of curving stairs. She began to ascend them, climbing higher and higher, wondering where they went. After a few minutes she arrived at the top, where there were two doors. One was a panel in the ceiling, with a ladder leading up to it, and the other looked much like the other doors in the complex, with the exception that it was slightly ajar.

Peering inside, Summer was astounded. Almost the entire circumference of the room was made up of floor to ceiling windows, and unlike the windows lower down in Center Neptune, sunlight lit up the scene, showing a beautiful variety of brightly colored tropical fish swimming about.

In the middle of the room, sitting on a cushioned bench, was Mark.

His head was in his hands, and he appeared not to notice the incredible marine display before him. Every line of his body screamed that he wanted to be left alone, but Summer knew that she couldn't do that.

She couldn't let Mark sink any deeper into this strange anger and depression he was experiencing.

Without saying a word, she walked up beside him, sitting down and gently placing her hand on his shoulder. He looked up, startled, and it was immediately obvious that he hadn't heard her arrive. To Summer's relief, he smiled at her.

"Summer..." he whispered. "You're here."

"Yes." she smiled back. "Only... I'm not quite sure where 'here' is."

"We're at the top of the base." Mark explained. "Directly above us is the Crescent Island that disguises Center Neptune from the spy satellites. This viewing chamber was built to impress all of the politicians and Galaxy Security bigwigs who funded the construction of the base. But since Opening Day, most people have forgotten about it, and no one comes here any more."

"Except you." Summer noted.

"Except me." Mark agreed. "I find it's a good place to think things over."

"And what were you thinking, just now?"

"I was thinking that if there were anything I could do, to spare you..."

"But there isn't, Mark."

"No." He hung his head. "I think I'm actually coming to accept that."

"Is it so terrible that I want to help my parents... help you... create a vaccine for the citizens of the Federation?"

"No. What's terrible is that you have to give up your body, and your life, for it."

"I'm not giving up my life." Summer laughed. "I'll have a baby. So what? I've always wanted to be a mother. Sure, I had thought about that being later, rather than sooner, but if this is what life is throwing at me, then I'm just going to deal with it."

"But what about going to university... falling in love..."

"I've already fallen in love." Summer admitted shyly. "I wasn't lying about that."

"Of course you weren't." Mark replied. "I just meant... I'm sorry that it's me."

"You are?" Summer blinked hard, trying to fight back the tears that sprung to her eyes.

"No... this isn't coming out right." Mark slammed his fists onto the bench. "I am thrilled that you love me back... I just wish that we could..."

"You love me back?" Summer breathed sharply, as her pulse began fluttering wildly.

"Yes... I..." Mark sighed. "Here I go, messing this up as well. Yes, I love you, Summer, but that's the problem. Everything that's happened these past few days has shown me that I can't have a relationship with you. How could I leave you, every day, going off to fight Spectra, and then knowing that I might not return? I don't want to put you through that..."

"But that's what _I_ want." Summer insisted. "It's not _your_ choice to make, whom I love."

"No, I suppose it's not." Mark smiled ruefully, taking her hands in his. "I just wanted to spare you the pain..."

"The only thing that's painful for me is seeing you and my parents dying." Summer pointed out. "I have to do whatever I can to save you. _All_ of you."

"I know." Mark nodded. "And then, when Jason said..."

"I know what Jason said." Summer put her arms around Mark, trying to pour out her love for him into a simple embrace. "It doesn't matter. Do you really think that I would do that?"

"Of course not." Mark smiled. "But the fact that he was even _implying_ it..."

"I think he's just as stressed out with this as you are." Summer pointed out. "He doesn't know how to deal with things either."

"I... am I that obvious?"

"Well, you were hiding away by yourself up here."

"Good point."

"For what it's worth, Chief Anderson was talking to me about artificial insemination options, but I had been hoping..."

"What?"

Mark turned to look at Summer, tilting her chin upward so that he could stare into her eyes.

"I was hoping that... maybe _you_ could..."

Summer's words drifted off, hanging in the air between them like a fragile balloon that could burst at any second.

"I..." Mark was amazed. "I don't know what to say. I... I would be honored... I would... well, to be honest, I've been thinking about it..."

Footsteps sounded from outside the door, and Mark and Summer jumped apart.

"There you are!" said Princess, sticking her head inside. "I just got word that Summer's test results are in. Chief Anderson wants to see you both."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mark and Summer made their way to the clinic, when they arrived Mark looked around and spotted Anderson at a workstation looking at something on a terminal.

"You wanted to speak to us, Sir?" Mark questioned formally.

Anderson turned and stood up, "Yes, I do. I wanted to let Summer know the results of her tests. It has also been more than six hours since _your_ last bloodwork was done, Commander, we … I, would like to run another set to see if we can pin down how … how fast the disease is … spreading."

Anderson seemed to be uncomfortable saying this to Mark. Summer remembered that the Chief had said that he thought of Mark as a son, when they had been alone in his office the other day. She knew how she felt, knowing that her parents might die, and knowing that Mark was now infected. The Chief must be feeling the same things, but was attempting to hide his emotions behind this work.

The Chief turned to Summer, his professionalism returning, "The tests we ran show that you are very close to your own natural ovulation. What we are going to do is give you some ovulation-stimulating drugs. This will aid in speeding up the maturing and release of some of your eggs. We think that about twenty-four hours from now you will be ovulating and we will be able to remove some of your eggs for fertilization."

"Remove my eggs? But what happens if I want to do this … naturally?" Summer asked.

"Well, there is always Artificial Insemination. That would be more natural but it may take longer to be certain the attempt was successful. But if we harvest your eggs and fertilize them, it will be more …"

"Clinical? Scientific?" Mark threw out a few words.

Anderson turned a cold look on Mark.

"I was going to say 'precise'." he said grimly. "We will know that fertilization was successful and the media cultures we have can speed up the development of the embryo. Within twenty-four hours of fertilization, we can implant the embryo back into Summer's uterus. Scientific methods are so much better these days, so we can be more certain that the embryo will attach itself to the wall of your uterus and will not be rejected."

"But… that's so… cold." Mark protested.

"It's for the best." Anderson replied calmly.

"But, what about…?" Summer turned pleading eyes to Mark.

"You _did_ promise us you would do this." Anderson reminded her.

Mark took a step toward Summer, pulling her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and offering the comfort of his presence. She gave a soft sob and spoke so quietly so only he could hear what she said.

"This is not how I imagined it."

She felt Mark hold her a little more tightly as he spoke to Anderson.

"Chief, stop pressuring her. She is not use to being one of your Lab Rats, like…"

Summer felt a wave of cold sweep through her at what Mark had said. He was making the term 'lab rats' sound like a _title_. What did he mean by that? And like _what_? What had Mark _not_ said?

"You have given her some options." Mark continued. "Are there any others?"

"Anything else will probably not be as successful."

She felt Mark tense as he said forcefully, "I didn't _ask_ …"

"Commander…"

When she looked up, Summer could see that Mark and the Chief's eyes were locked, staring each other down. Finally the Chief spoke.

"You always did like to have all the facts." he admitted reluctantly. Anderson turned and looked down at the workstation counter, picking up a piece of paper.

"Other options." he said, reading the list, "I have told you about Artificial Insemination and InVitro. There is also Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Again, these procedures require going in and retrieving some of Summer's eggs. While they are out of her body, we would do our best to fertilize them ourselves and …"

"So, those are the options you wish to pursue?" Mark cut him off.

"Mark…" the Chief muttered, looking at the Eagle and then sighing as he looked away. "These are the _best_ choices we have available to us, for a _number_ of reasons."

"I'm just letting Summer know _all_ of her options Chief."

"Do I have to make my decision _now_?" Summer asked quietly.

"No, you don't," Anderson sighed, "but seeing as most methods require eggs to be harvested, I will set up an appointment for that, this time tomorrow. Now, Summer, I am going to have you go off to get the drugs you need to help stimulate your ovulation."

The Chief waved his hand at a medic nearby. She approached and took Summer to another part of the room. While Summer was getting jabbed by needles, she watched as Anderson spoke to Mark. Then the Eagle sat down and extended his arm. The Chief then proceeded to extract several vials of blood. When he was finished Mark walked over to Summer, holding a cotton ball in the crook of his arm.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Summer looked back at the medic who nodded her head. Summer followed Mark out of the Clinic and down the hall toward the living quarters. Partway down the hall, he stopped and leaned against the wall, looking at her.

"What is it, Mark?"

"I'm not ready to face them, yet."

"Who?"

"Them. The others. I don't have the strength to face Jason's anger right now, and I don't want Princess' sympathy or mothering. I just want…"

Summer watched as Mark closed his eyes and he tilted his head back against the wall. He took a deep breath and when he opened his blue eyes they were staring at her intently.

"… to be with _you_." he finished softly.

Mark pushed off from the wall with his shoulders and reached down for her hand. Linking his fingers through hers, he turned back the way they had come.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"Fitness Level."

Summer took two more steps before what he said sank in and then she hung back, pulling on his arm.

"Mark, the Chief said you are supposed to be inactive. A workout is probably _not_ a good idea. Besides I'm not sure …"

Summer felt herself begin to blush. She had been about to say she was not sure if she was interested in watching Mark work out, but as she ran her eyes over his clothed form she had suddenly imagined watching the muscles of his chest, back and abdomen flexing, contracting and rippling as he moved, and the idea had suddenly had merit. Somehow, Mark appeared to pick up on her thoughts.

"What, you don't want to see me without my shirt on?" he teased. Then he became more serious again. "No, that wasn't what I had in mind. I was thinking no one was likely to be in our fitness area at this time. It is a place we can be in private. What I do have in mind is something relaxing … for now."

88888

Fifteen minutes later, Summer found herself in a hot tub, leaning up against Mark's chest while he gently kneaded her shoulders. As he massaged her neck and shoulders, she let her head hang. The tension from the last day was slowly slipping from her body.

At first, it had amazed Summer that Mark had managed to find a swimsuit for her. But now his strong hands were doing amazing things to her body. She just wanted to lie against him and slip into a world where nothing could go wrong.

Unfortunately she couldn't allow herself that luxury. She had a decision to make, so she finally pulled herself away from Mark's hands and moved to a seat on the other side of the tub. Mark looked at her questioningly.

"We need to decide what to do with the information the Chief gave us."

She watched Mark's shoulders rise in a shrug before he answered her.

"What do _you_ really want?"

"Well … as I said up in that chamber … up at the top? … I really would like it to be _you_ who … "

"Yes, I remember you saying that." he said gently, causing her to tremble. "I think I was saying, when we were interrupted, that I would like that as well. But I just wanted to make sure everything the Chief said had not changed your mind."

"How are we going to do this?"

"What? You were never told about the birds and the bees?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow and giving a small smile.

"Not that, you idiot!" she laughed, splashing a handful of water at him, "I mean, yes, I have been taught about sexual intercourse. What I meant is, how do we tell the Chief that's what we want?" Mark moved toward her.

"Who says we have to tell him?" he murmured, leaning in and giving her an intense kiss. When he finally pulled away, she was breathless.

Summer's head was spinning. The warmth of the water, the feel of Mark's hands on her body, and his mouth on hers, were all combining to erode her natural shyness, and she found herself giving in to the sensations Mark was stirring within her.

Mark pulled back slightly, still holding her in his arms, his eyes searching hers for an answer. Summer stared into their endless blue depths for only a moment, before she found her lips forming a single word.

"Yes..."

Mark smiled, and there was a joy in that smile, free of any of the pain or despair she had seen weighing on him for the past twenty-four hours. Silently, he climbed out of the hot tub, holding out his hand to assist her. Once they were both out of the water, he wrapped a large, fluffy towel around her, his hands smoothing up and down her body, as he rubbed the soft cloth over her skin.

"Five minutes." he said softly, his eyes holding more than a hint of promise.

"Five minutes..." she whispered, staring at him in a daze as he left her to enter the men's locker room. She remained in that daze as she entered the women's changing area, showered quickly, and dressed herself again.

When she exited the Fitness Center, it was exactly four minutes and thirty seconds later, but Mark was leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Except for his damp hair, he looked as if he had been waiting there for hours. Again, he held out his hand, and Summer put hers into it, her cheeks blushing a soft pink. Mark smiled gently, and he tilted her chin up to kiss her teasingly.

Without a word, he led her through the twisting maze of corridors that made up Center Neptune, eventually coming to a small corridor with a few undistinguished doors off of it. Opening one, he drew her inside, and Summer suddenly recognized it as the room in which she had slept the previous night.

"I didn't think it was a good idea if we went to _my_ quarters." he explained. "I didn't want to run into anyone else."

"The only person I want to be with, is you." Summer said shyly, surprising herself with the double meaning behind her words. To hide her embarrassment, she stood up on tiptoe, kissing Mark on the cheek.

Mark turned his head, so that her lips instead met his mouth, and his hands caressed her arms, sliding up and down. The movement had a strange calming effect, and Summer found herself relaxing. She made no protest as his fingers slipped inside of her shirt, brushing over her satin skin. She found herself mirroring his actions, pulling up his shirt and pressing her palms flat against his bare chest, feeling his muscle ripple beneath her curious touch. A flood of sensations overwhelmed her, and Summer was suddenly tugging at the thin material, pulling it over his head so that she could press tiny kisses against his body over and over, until she was dizzy with the feelings awakening within her.

Mark groaned, pushing her just far enough away that he was able to remove her own shirt. She reciprocated by tugging at his belt, and before long they were in each others' arms without any further barriers between them, only her softness melting against his hard frame.

Summer felt as if she were falling... and indeed she was, as the cool sheets of the bed rose up to meet her, while Mark's body covered hers like a warm blanket. But... a blanket was comforting... calming... and what Mark was doing to her was anything but calming. Her body was on fire, and Mark's actions were only fanning the flames, encouraging her to follow the flood of desire that was coursing through her.

He was everywhere... his lips, his hands, his legs... and she found herself responding in kind, exploring every inch of his perfection with a greedy eagerness that was only matched by his own. She felt his mouth on her breasts, as it had been before, after her bath at the Chief's house. But the feelings she recalled from that forbidden encounter paled beside the tidal wave that crashed over her as he teased and tasted, nipping at her delicate skin in a way that nearly had her screaming.

He moved upward to kiss her mouth again, and she felt his knee between her thighs, gently nudging them apart. A hard, searing heat pressed along the inside of her leg, and a sudden chill ran along her spine as she recognized the instrument of her imminent deflowering.

Mark sensed Summer's sudden tensing and he eased back, softly stroking and caressing her body until she became used to the pulsing length against her, moving inexorably toward its ultimate goal.

She gasped as she felt it brush against the folds of sensitive flesh at the junction of her thighs, the tip pressing into her warmth, lingering at the entrance to her most feminine self. It moved no further, and in frustration, Summer found herself crying out.

"Please... Mark..."

"I love you, Summer." he whispered in her ear, even as he pressed into her soft depths, shattering the barrier of her virginity with one smooth thrust. She cried out with the momentary pain, but was soothed by Mark's lips brushing her tears away from her cheeks. He moved slowly within her, and when she became used to the sensation she found that the pain was gone, leaving only a pleasant warmth behind.

Mark's length stroked the inside of her body, moving faster and faster until he stiffened momentarily, crying out her name as he collapsed on top of her, burying her in a flood of kisses. She reached up, cradling his head in her hands when he fell to the side, his hard length still buried deep within her.

It took them some time for their ragged breathing to subside, and Summer smiled to herself as she floated on the cloud of sensations still lingering within her.

"Are you all right?" Mark asked solicitously, pulling her against him.

"Yes..." she sighed happily. "Thank you..."

"I should be the one thanking you." he said, confused.

"No..." she shook her head. "This is what I wanted... this is how a child should be conceived... With love; not in a cold, clinical laboratory."

"You know..." he smiled, a wicked light coming into his cerulean eyes, "conception doesn't always happen the _first_ time."

"Oh." Summer said, disappointed, but her eyebrows shot up as he began caressing her body, and the meaning of his words sunk in.

"Ohhhhhhh..."

Mark shifted his weight again, so that he was lying on his back with her head on his chest. She listened as his rapid heat beat slowed and became regular. He continued to stroke her hair and back tenderly, and unconsciously Summer found herself doing the same to his chest.

Then her finger found a scab along his ribs. She lifted her head and saw the three lines where the Blackbird had scratched him only this morning. It shouldn't be healed this much; not yet anyway. Shocked, she looked up and could see he was smiling.

"One of the benefits of my Cerebonics; fast healing. Remember the Chief said that they helped fight diseases as well?"

"And you know this because you have been hurt like this before?"

"Yes, it's pretty typical when Blackbirds are involved." Mark said, shifting his shoulder. "Otherwise, we generally just get bruises, cracked ribs, that sort of thing. The uniform is bullet proof, but we do still feel the impact." Summer touched the scabs again.

"And this is a normal occurrence for you … I mean…" She shook her head. "I'm not sure what I mean. It's just, anyone else, if they were hurt like that … " She shook her head again, and Mark reached up to touch her cheek, his eyes filled with passion.

"It's what I do. It's what I have to endure, to make sure that Spectra does not get what they want." Mark turned his head away from her but not before she saw the pain in his eyes.

"At least it _was_ what I did."

Mark pulled away from her and sat up.

"What have I done?" he moaned hopelessly, holding his head between his hands.

Summer felt herself panic. She had not expected this to happen, not from such an innocent comment. When she reached out and touched his back, Mark flinched away from her.

"Mark…" she whispered.

"I should have been protecting you.." he whispered, turning to her with desperate eyes. "Not _this_... I shouldn't have let _any_ of this happen. If I had only …"

"Mark, no!" Summer snapped, hoping to bring him out of this pit of torment into which he was tumbling. After she had yelled at him, she saw him pull back as though he had been slapped. But when she reached out to him, he did not pull further away. She rested one hand on his chest, sliding the other up his neck and to his face.

"I heard you telling the Chief not to base ideas on 'if's. Now don't _you_ do it." she said sternly, before continuing in a pleading whisper. "Mark, please."

She wasn't sure if she liked this begging side to herself, but she _had_ to keep Mark sane, and if this was the only way, then so be it. She watched as some of the torment left his eyes.

"But …"

"No 'but's, Mark; we are done with 'but's." Summer said, shaking her head. "Events have happened, and we can't go back. It is _over with_. Do you understand me?"

She watched the last of the despair drain from his eyes leaving only emptiness.

"Yes." he said, as he closed his eyes and leaned his head on her shoulder.

Summer wrapped her arms around his neck. As she began a gentle swaying motion, she felt Mark place his arms around her waist. After a bit she heard an almost silent, "I'm sorry."

"Mark, don't be." she told him reassuringly. "You're afraid; that's understandable. You are used to protecting and feeling …" she searched for the right word, "invulnerable. But sometimes, very occasionally, even you protectors need helping. Let us do that for you, now. Let _us_ help _you_, so you can heal and get strong again. Okay?"

After a bit she felt Mark nod his head against her shoulder and shortly he raised his head

"And do you have any immediate plans for helping me?" he asked playfully.

"Well, I can …"

She couldn't finish what she was going to say because Mark's mouth was on hers.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Summer awoke and stretched lazily. But she was shocked when her arm bumped into a warm body in her bed. But once she had oriented herself, she smiled. Mark was lying partially on his side, still asleep.

She lay there, quietly observing him as he slept. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed, his bare chest slowly rising and falling. She reached out, her hand wanting to trace his strong jaw, and then pulled back, uncertain if touching Mark would awaken him. In fact, it surprised Summer that her earlier touch had not disturbed him.

Summer eventually got up and padded her way over to the washroom, turning on the shower and stepping inside. She stood and enjoyed the sensation of the water falling over her body before shampooing her hair and then washing herself.

As she stepped back into the bedroom, she noticed that Mark had rolled onto his side and was now watching her. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Good morning." he smiled. "How did you sleep?" Mark gently stroked her arm up and down, sending a pleasant shudder through her body.

"Mmmmm…. very well... you?"

"Wonderfully." Mark said with a tired smile and before reaching up and pulling her down to him. Once she was in his embrace, he kissed her passionately.

Summer quickly wrapped her arms around Mark, moaning lightly with the pleasure of his touch. Eventually, Mark pulled away, smiling and looking into her eyes.

"I love you." he whispered.

Summer brought a hand up to caress his face.

"I love you too Mark," she said gently, "but I really think we need to get some breakfast, before we go back to the clinic."

"Whatever you say, your Highness." Mark chuckled, leaning in to kiss her again before he got up and headed to the bathroom. Summer heard the water in the shower turn on and then she moved to get dressed.

Several hours later, after a leisurely meal and a stroll around a part of Centre Neptune Summer had not seen yet, they were back in the Clinic.

Chief Anderson had been waiting for them, and she saw a momentary flash of relief cross his face as he saw Mark. But it was quickly gone, only to be covered by his serious professionalism once again.

"Mark, it is good to see you again. Jason said that you did not make it to your quarters last night."

"I … needed some time to myself. Not arguing with Jase."

Anderson nodded his head once and said, "I see." before turning to Summer.

"Did you make a decision last night?" he asked her, even as he was motioning for her to sit down on the examination table.

Summer glanced sidelong at Mark. She had made a decision, but she had forgotten that she was supposed to have decided upon one of the options Chief Anderson had presented.

"Well… ummm, I haven't really… I…" She stammered as she looked at the Chief and saw the disapproving look he was sending in her direction.

"Roll up your sleeve." he ordered curtly, as he picked up a syringe from the counter.

"You see, Mark and I were talking last night, and we kind of got sidetracked." she explained as she followed his orders.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as he started drawing some of her blood. "What is this for?"

"We need to run some more tests, to see if the drugs we gave you are helping. It won't take more than half an hour, and by then you will have to have come up with your decision." Anderson told Summer. Finished, the Chief pulled out and disposed of the needle, pocketing the vials of blood.

"Yes, Sir." she replied meekly.

"Your turn Commander." the Chief said, turning to him. Mark stepped forward and took the spot Summer had just vacated.

"Chief do you know what the early symptoms might be for this disease?" he asked.

Summer heard herself gasp and saw Anderson freeze as Mark spoke.

"What, exactly, are you looking for, Commander?"

Summer watched as Mark actually dropped his eyes away.

"I am just wondering what I have to look forward to."

Anderson had still not moved and Summer watched his eyes scan Mark, before taking a deep breath.

"Mark …" Anderson said as he released his breath. Mark's eyes returned to the Chief face.

"We are not exactly certain what part of your body the disease will attack first. From what we could tell, and from your reports, King and Queen Tribaldi still had full mental functions at the time of their collapse. You saw no signs of seizures, and at the advanced stage they were at, if the disease had started affecting their brains then that would have been a bad sign."

"You reported that while they were on the Phoenix, their breathing was rapid, but that may have been because they were in pain. The pain they felt could have been muscle cramps, abdominal cramps."Anderson shook his head. "As I said, the disease destroys cells. It is only supposition that it will attack the major organs first, but we don't really know." Anderson reached out and placed a hand on Mark's shoulder.

"Mark what is it? What is wrong?" the Chief asked quietly.

"I'm just … I feeling tired, drained … You know, like when we come back from a long mission. That's all."

"I'm going to take some blood, Mark. We were going to anyway, but we will check a few other things as well. And then, maybe we can get a Vitamix made up for you." Mark's head shot up.

"I won't drink it. You know we all hate the taste of those."

"You are either going to drink it, or we will be using an IV to get it into you." Anderson's voice was forceful, leaving no doubt in Summer's mind that he meant it.

Mark and the Chief glared at each other before Mark finally said, "I guess it will be the IV. I have the time to waste while we wait for our results."

Anderson nodded and then reached for the syringe and drew off several vials of Mark's blood before removing the needle.

"You know where to lie down." he told the Eagle.

The Chief then picked up the vials and walked out of the room, to another station on the other side of the Clinic.

Mark got up from his seat and started in the opposite direction toward one of the medical beds. Summer followed behind, but stopped him.

"Mark I don't understand, what's wrong?"

"Summer, the Chief is going to figure that out from my tests." Mark replied. "But I should not be feeling like I have just completed a two-week mission. Not after the sleep I had last night."

"What is a Vitamix?"

"Don't ask, You _really_ don't want to know." Mark said with a smile as he moved towards the bed and sat down upon it. The top half was raised, so that when he shifted around he was reclining back.

"Vitamix is a mix of Vitamins, like they couldn't come up with a name more original than that." Mark explained. "And it tastes awful, like paste or …" Mark gave a shudder. "Don't make me think about it."

"Actually there are more than just vitamins in here." Anderson said, coming up behind Summer and walking around to the other side of the bed. "There are minerals and other supplements as well."

"Yeah, well, what ever you put in it, it still tastes horrible." Mark retorted mildly, extending his arm toward the Chief.

As Anderson prepared Mark's arm, Mark turned his head, gave Summer a weak smile and reached out his other hand. Summer took the hand and clasped it between her own.

"You have done this a lot before, haven't you?"

After inserting the needle and making sure the IV bag was dripping, Anderson patted Mark's leg before moving away.

"Twenty minutes for this, Commander."

Mark just nodded his head and then let it fall back against the bed. Summer sat and watched as his breathing slowed again. And then she remembered yet again that she needed to make a decision.

What was she going to do? She had not realized she had spoken her thoughts out loud, until Mark's eyes opened and his head came up.

"Hmmm?"

"If we weren't successful last night… What should I do?"

"It's _your_ decision, but I would go with Anderson's choice. He usually knows what's best. We did try."

"If I do that… it won't be yours, though."

Mark looked down and then back at her before replying.

"No, probably not. The Chief won't allow that. Too many… complications for me, he would say."

Summer gave a sigh as she looked around and saw the Chief heading in their direction.

"I have your results, Mark." he said grimly. "Your Cerebonics are working at maximum capacity, which explains your exhaustion. It appears that the disease has been progressing at a faster speed than we first anticipated. For some reason, the time line has shifted a little. Now, instead of the five days we gave you, it looks more like 4. What happened last night Mark? What did you do to overwork your Cerebonics like this?"

Mark turned his head and looked at Summer and then over her shoulder. When she turned she saw another medic approaching their spot. He handed Anderson a file.

The Chief opened it and flipped through a few pages and paused.

"No need to answer that, Mark." he muttered in frustration. "I think I can see what you have been doing."

Anderson then turned to Summer, waving the file in his hands.

"This is your file." he said angrily. "I was just reading though the tests done on your blood work. I guess congratulations are in order. Not only have you subverted my Commander, but you are pregnant." The Chief turned on Mark and yelled at him too.

"Why would you do something so foolish? You have just opened yourself up to attacks from Spectra! Do you know how they could use this information? Why do you think…?" Anderson suddenly stopped mid-rant.

"Mark, the team can't loose you. _I _can't loose you."

Summer's eyes followed the Chief as he stormed off and out of the room. It took the unexpected sound of Jason's voice to bring her attention back.

"Wow, Commander, what did you do to upset him?" Then the Condor dropped his voice deviously. "Can I be apart of it?"

"You already are, Jase." Mark responded tiredly. "I just followed through on something you suggested."

"What did I suggest?" Jason asked, confused. Then he looked over at Summer, who turned bright red, before averting her eyes from the Condor's gaze.

"Ah..." Jason grinned. "Well, I guess if you're going to bite it, at least you went out with a 'bang'!" The Condor snickered at his own crude joke. The Eagle simply laid himself back, his eyes closed as his exhaustion overcame him.

"Just leave Mark alone!" Summer muttered threateningly.

"What did you say?" Jason was surprised at Summer's tone.

"I said, lay off, Jason!" Summer answered, standing up and moving over to the Condor. It was one thing for her to be embarrassed, but quite another for Jason to make things more difficult for Mark, who was obviously already going through enough. She strode over to where the Condor was standing, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"You like to shoot your mouth off an awful lot, I've noticed!" she huffed. "I just hope you're half as good at shooting a gun. Mark is having a difficult enough time without having to listen to your crap!" Summer was amazed at the words coming out of her mouth. Hadn't it been just yesterday that she had been cowering in a corner, fearful of this man? But her feelings for Mark had come to the fore, and she recalled what she had said to him just that morning...

_Sometimes, very occasionally, even you protectors need helping..._

Was that what she was doing now?

"Hey, I was just making a joke..." Jason held up his hands in mock surrender, an amused smile on his face as he looked down at the fiery redhead. "No harm done..."

"What would _you_ know?" Summer cried. "I'm trying to save Mark's life, and all you can do is make crass comments! Well I've had enough of it! If you can't behave, then you can just get out!"

The Condor glanced over at the Eagle, who was lying on the bed with a strange smile on his face.

"Look, I can tell that those hormones the Chief administered have done a number on you, 'your Highness'." Jason replied sarcastically. "So I'll just forget about this..."

"You had better not!" Summer's temper flared up again. "If I find you bothering Mark again, so help me, I'll..."

"You had better not do anything." remarked the Chief angrily, entering the room again. "We can't risk you miscarrying."

"Miscarrying?" Jason was astounded. "You mean, it worked? Wow, Mark! Your boys can swim!"

Summer glared at Jason, her eyes shooting daggers at him. The Condor merely grinned.

"I can tell what you see in her, Mark." he laughed. "If she's half that spirited under the sheets, then..."

"Enough!" roared the Chief. "Jason, out!" Anderson turned his back, and the Condor quickly backed out of the room. Summer smirked, watching him go, but he got the last laugh by offering a courtly bow with a mocking flourish before he vanished into the corridor.

"Now, your Highness," the Chief continued, every word clearly an effort, "we will need you to stay in the Medical Clinic for a few days while we ensure that the pregnancy is progressing normally, and then make preparations to harvest the biominiopic particles."

"Harvest?" Summer blanched. "You make it sound..."

"A poor choice of words." Anderson muttered through gritted teeth. "All the same, you will remain here." He grabbed a stack of papers from a nearby counter and stalked out of the office again, audibly muttering to himself.

"Damn teenagers. Don't know why I put up with any of them..."

"He really does love us, you know." Mark said quietly.

Summer turned, looking at a pale, exhausted Eagle. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes.

"It's just his way." Mark continued, his eyes shut. "He's a scientist, and in a way, we're all just experiments to him. Especially Keyop..."

Summer moved closer, placing her hand gently on Mark's shoulder.

"The Vitamix isn't working?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know..." Mark whispered. "Just... so... tired..."

His head suddenly slumped to the side, and Summer knew with a dreadful certainty that something was terribly wrong.

"Chief!" she cried. "It's Mark! Please come quickly!"

Chief Anderson came running into the room, took one look at the unconscious Eagle and immediately called for a team of nurses and physicians. Before Summer could blink, Mark had been wheeled away, leaving her all alone in the room. She collapsed onto the other bed, a stream of tears running down her cheeks as she pulled her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth until she entered a dreamlike state.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Summer, are you okay?"

Summer blinked, seeing the glare of harsh florescent lighting above her head. She turned to look at the person sitting next to her.

"Princess?" she asked, her throat feeling like sandpaper. "What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Princess admitted. "Keyop and I came to visit Mark, but the nurse said that he had been taken into the isolation ward. When we went looking for you, you were lying on an examination bed mumbling to yourself, and we were unable to snap you out of it."

"How long ago was that?" Summer asked, her voice cracking.

"Let me get you some water." Princess said, pouring a cup for her and putting in a straw. She helped Summer raise her bed, so that she could drink. Summer sighed gratefully as the cool liquid slid down her throat.

"How long ago, Princess?" Summer asked again.

"Twelve hours." Princess admitted. "The nurses think they've stabilized you. They also said that you were..."

"Pregnant." Summer finished the sentence. "Yes."

"But, you didn't go through the procedure." Princess said quietly.

"No." Summer confirmed.

"I see." Princess nodded understandingly. "You really _do_ care for Mark, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Summer replied. "He's the most wonderful, selfless person I've ever met. He _can't_ die. I won't _let_ him. I love him."

Before the Swan could respond, Keyop and Chief Anderson entered the room.

"Princess... breep... in here..." the boy burbled.

"Princess, I'm glad I've found you." the Chief greeted her, ignoring Summer. "I wanted to let you know that Mark has been placed in cryogenic stasis, pending the development of a cure for his illness. For the time being, Jason is in command of the team, and you are his second."

"I understand, Chief." Princess replied, a tremble in her voice. "But, how did this happen? I thought you said yesterday that he had a few days...?"

"At the time, that is what I thought, as well." Anderson admitted. "However, there was something we hadn't anticipated. It seems that the Blackbird who injured Mark during yesterday's mission had some kind of poison in his claws. That poison accelerated the virus in a way that we could not have foreseen."

"So... it wasn't... what happened last night?" Summer asked in a quiet voice.

"No." the Chief admitted. "It seems that wasn't the cause at all. And in fact, there may have also been a beneficial side effect that we did not anticipate."

"What's that?" Summer asked, white-faced.

"When you conceived, the donor sperm was not 'normal'." Anderson replied. "It was already affected by the virus, and beginning to degrade. But your unique body chemistry recognized that, and began counteracting the effect right away. As a result, you have already generated enough biominiopic particles for us to use in developing a cure. We do not have to wait for another two to three days, as we had previously thought."

Summer flinched when the Chief referred to Mark as a 'donor'. She also noticed that he hadn't apologize for his mistaken accusation. But she pushed her own feelings aside, in her concern for Mark.

"How long will that take?" she asked anxiously.

"We're not sure." Anderson replied. "But we're working as fast as we can."

"Let's just hope it's fast enough." said Princess.

88888

It took the medical teams, working around the clock, Thirty-six hours to develop a vaccine for Mark and her parents. During that time, twice they had had to draw large quantities of blood from Summer, before they were able to create a culture which would allow them to produce the biominiopic particles artificially.

A slightly light-headed Summer was now sitting beside Mark's bedside. Her parents were in beds across the room. A few hours earlier they had all been taken out of cryogenic stasis. Her parents had been injected with the vaccine immediately.

For Mark, the Chief had insisted on shutting down his Cerebonics before injecting him, a process that took nearly an hour. Anderson said the reason they needed to do this was something to do with the Cerebonics not only fighting the disease, but also the vaccine, thinking it was a foreign body. The Chief felt that, once the vaccine had flooded Mark's system and had penetrated his cells, then they would be able to restart his Cerebonics and they could incorporate the new biominiopic particles in his body.

But for now, Summer was sitting and watching Mark's shallow breathing and pale face. He had wires and tubes attached to him monitoring his heart rate, breathing and brain waves and supplying him with drugs through an IV drip. Every twenty minutes a nurse would quietly enter the room, check the three patients and record the data on the charts.

Summer was holding one of Mark's hands clenched between both of hers, wishing that some of her strength could reach Mark and help him recover and wake up. She looked up and around and saw Jason leaning against the doorjamb, his eyes looking troubled.

"Nothing yet?" he questioned Summer quietly, flicking a glance in her direction.

Summer shook her head.

"He's strong, he will make it." Jason whispered. Summer was not sure if it was more to reassure her, or himself.

Over the last two days, the two of them had settled things between themselves and a friendship had begun to form. Princess had informed Summer that Jason's aggression was a front; something she had already suspected. She had also learned that she enjoyed exchanging colorful barbs with the Condor; it gave her something other than her own depressing situation to think about.

"That's what everyone keeps saying." she responded, before asking, "What's wrong Jason?"

"I just… I was hoping he… " Jason walked to the end of Mark's bed and looked down.

"Zoltar knows we are vulnerable and he's making his move. I have… _We_ have to go out in a few hours, and we could be gone for a couple of days. It would be one less thing to worry about if I knew he was awake. I would like to hear his voice on the Comm; even if it was only to tell me I being an ass." Jason smirked weakly.

"Well, if you have left when he wakes up, I can let him know what you said, so he can give you a yell." Summer laughed quietly. "The doctors seem to think it could be soon."

"And knowing him, he will put it off until after we have left, just to spite me." For just a second. Jason glared down at his Commander, before his eyes softened. He turned to Summer as he said, "Although it may not sound like it, we really do care for each other."

"I know. Siblings fight, sometimes. At least my brothers and I did all the time."

"You have brothers?"

"Yes three, all older than I am. They are on Riga. I was to go there myself when I graduated high school. My parents liked something about their higher education system." Summer turned to look at her parents. "I guess I will have to tell them that I will be staying on Earth."

"Get Mark to help you." Jason suggested dryly. "He's very good at convincing people to do what he wants. He may look innocent with those big blue eyes and all, but his brain is moving ten steps ahead, calculating and processing information for his success."

"He wasn't very successful convincing me not to get pregnant." Jason looked sharply at her.

"Probably because he knew, in his heart, that it was his only chance."

"Or perhaps because I was determined to help him, and he knew it." Summer replied.

"Or it could just be that once he saw the 'side benefits' of being involved in the process himself..."

Jason's words trailed off as Summer gave him a hard look, but the wicked grin on his face told her that he had only been teasing.

"I like you, Summer." he said suddenly. "I think you'll be able to keep him in line. He needs that."

"Thanks..." said Summer. "I think."

A beeping noise emanated from Jason's arm, and he raised his wrist to his mouth.

"G2 here."

"Jason, you need to get everyone to the Phoenix immediately." came Chief Anderson's disembodied voice. "Susan has spotted an unidentified alien spacecraft approaching our solar system."

"Acknowledged."

Jason gave Mark one last look, then glanced at Summer.

"I'll have him contact you the moment he's able to talk." she promised.

"Thank you." the Condor said, before rushing out of the room.

Summer turned back to Mark, brushing a lock of auburn hair back from his pale face. She desperately wished that he would open his eyes, smiling at her the way he had only a couple of days ago.

A soft moan came from the other side of the room, and Summer rushed over to find her mother coming around.

"Mom, I'm here." she said, taking her mother's hands in her own after ringing the call button for the nurse.

"Summer?" her mother asked wearily. "Where am I? What happened?"

Before Summer could answer, a doctor and two nurses came rushing in. Upon realizing that the Queen was awake, they pushed Summer aside to perform a series of tests. She stared anxiously at the scene, willing her strength into her mother, just as she had done for Mark only moments before.

"I want to see my daughter..." her mother protested.

"In a moment, your Majesty." the doctor told the Tribaldi Queen. "We just need to run some tests, and take samples of your blood for analysis."

Summer's mother waited impatiently for the medical team to finish their work, and the moment they had left she weakly beckoned Summer to her side.

"How far has the illness progressed?" she asked.

"They cured you, Mom." Summer said.

"What? But that's impossible!" her mother protested. "They would need..."

"Biominiopic particles." Summer finished for her. "I know. I provided them."

The Queen's eyes clouded over with tears. "Then, you're..."

"Yes." Summer nodded. "I'm pregnant. And I couldn't be happier about it. I helped to save your life, and Dad's life, and the life of the man I love. And they're going to make a vaccine for all of the citizens of the Federation..."

"The man you love?" Summer's mother cut her off. "Who is _this_? You need to talk to me, Summer."

"Do you remember the boy I went out with? Mark?"

"Mark? The boy you went home with after you ended up in the hospital? Oh, Summer how can you have fallen in love after just one date? And with a person from Earth!"

"Mother!" Summer said in shook. "What difference does it make where he is from? I know I love him and when he is better you will see that he is a very special person."

"You are seventeen years old, Summer. You do not know enough about love to know if you are _in_ love."

"Mom, I know I trust him; I feel safe when he's around. When he holds me in his arms I feel warm and protected; like nothing can ever hurt me. I know that when he talks to me I feel like I am glowing, and when he whispers my name everything flutters inside. I know the slightest touch from him makes me want no one else. Lastly, I know I am willing to do this to help him, to make him better, so I can experience all of those feelings again."

Summer's mother looked at her for a long time before speaking.

"Maybe you really do know what love is. But this _cannot_ happen. You are from the Planet Pixtar. Your father wants you to marry someone from our planet. That is why we intend to send you to Riga next year, so you can interact with other Pixtarians."

Summer turned to look at Mark, her expression torn. All of her life she had done what her parents had wanted, but now… how could she give up Mark? Especially since he was the father of her baby. She was just gathering her courage to respond when her mother spoke again.

"I heard you dear. And I can see that you really do love him. Sometimes, your father can be a little backward. Let me talk to him. I can offer no promises, but let me see what I can do."

Summer stepped up to her mother and placing her head on her shoulder and giving her a hug.

"Thank you Mother." she said.

88888

Summer spent the next few hours sitting with her mother, talking softly in between the Queen's periods of rest. They spoke of many things, including the family's flight from Pixtar, and why they had never told Summer of her full heritage.

"You knew that we were Tribaldi," her mother said, "but we were so afraid that as a child, you would let slip that we weren't just average Pixtarians. The Spectrans were after us, even then, because they knew that if they killed us, then the knowledge of biominiopics would be destroyed forever. But now, it has been so many years..."

"They're still after us, Mom." Summer said. "They tried to kidnap me, when I was out with Mark."

"That because they wanted our unique biominiopic particles, in order to create their virus." the Queen said. "And unfortunately, they succeeded. They took blood samples from your father, weakening him greatly, and used them to develop the disease."

"But with _my_ particles, he should be cured." Summer reassured her.

As if he heard their words, King Tribaldi began to stir.

As her mother sat up Summer reached for and pressed the call button to summon medical aid. Two nurses rushed in and were bustling around her father's bed, examining him and performing tests. Summer and her mother watched as they did their checks. As her father gave another low moan, her mother sat up.

"Is he going to be all right?" she demanded to know.

"He's just waking up now, but all the signs look good, your Majesty. A doctor has been summoned and will be in shortly to let you know more." one of the nurses replied. But as the nurse began turning back to her father, she gave a gasp and raced to the door.

"Get the doctor now!" she yelled. "The Commander is awake!"

Summer snapped her head in Mark's direction and saw him sitting up in his bed. The nurse, who had just yelled for assistance, was cautiously approaching the Eagle.

"Commander, you really should not be sitting up." she was saying.

Then three other nurses rushed into the room and towards Mark, followed immediately by two doctors.

As the crowd began to close around Mark's bed, Summer saw him pull away unsteadily and then collapse back onto the bed.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding confused. "Why am I here?"

The doctor calmly said, "Mark, the disease progressed faster than anticipated. You have been in cryogenic stasis, and were administered the vaccine a few hours ago. The Chief will explain more later, but he has given orders that you are to be examined thoroughly as soon as you wake up. We are going to move you to another room now, so we can do that."

"Where is he?" Mark questioned.

"The Chief? He's busy right now, with your Team."

As some of the nurses and one of the doctors wheeled Mark out of the room and down the hall, one nurse and one doctor turned and joined the nurse who had remained at her father's bed.

"Summer? Was that the boy you fell in love with?" her mother whispered to her. "Who is he, to get so much attention?"

Summer looked at her mother, nodded her head and was opening her mouth to respond, when the doctor turned and pre-empted her.

"Mark is the son of Security Chief Anderson." he explained. "The Chief is a very important man, so we treat his son with much importance as well."

"But that nurse called him, 'Commander'." her mother noted.

"Mark is an agent in charge of a special unit of operatives and carries the title of Commander." the doctor responded, his tone making it clear that he was not going to say any more on this subject. While he had been speaking, the doctor's eyes had briefly met with Summer's, warning her not to say anything further.

As the doctor returned back to examining her father, Summer remembered how earlier she had heard the Chief has used similar words to describe Mark's title to her. She realized that the line must be a standard release that everyone had been given for when 'too much' information had been inadvertently released.

"Hello, your Majesty!" the doctor uttered cheerfully. "If you give us just a moment, we will have finished our exam and I will be able to answer everyone's questions." The King was wheeled from the room, surrounded by another bevy of nurses and medics.

Once the medical team had gone, Summer and her mother were alone. The Queen nervously looked around, ensuring that no one else remained.

"Summer..." she said, hesitating.

"Yes, Mom?"

"When you... got pregnant... how did it happen?"

"Mom!" Summer blushed. She couldn't believe her mother was asking such a question. After all, didn't she _know_ how this kind of thing worked?

"I know it's not what you might expect me to be asking." the Queen said quietly. "But it makes a difference."

"Why?" Summer was curious.

"Pixtarians... they aren't promiscuous." Summer's mother explained. "They aren't physically intimate with each other unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Oh, this is so difficult." Queen Tribaldi bit her lower lip. "I didn't expect to have to discuss this with you until your wedding day. It's too soon."

"What's too soon?" Summer was worried now.

"Pixtarians are only intimate with people they love."

"That's as it should be."

"Yes, but... there is no such thing as physical intimacy on our planet, except with one's mate. We just aren't _interested_ in being with anyone else. Once you have had your first physical experience, you are mated for life."

"I... I see..." Now it was Summer's turn to look away.

"You... you were with this boy, Mark." the Queen deduced. "Weren't you?"

"Yes." Summer admitted. "I would never have considered it normally, but it was the only way to save you, and Dad..."

"I understand." the Queen nodded. "But he is not Pixtarian. He may not feel the same way about you, that you feel about him. He's probably not ready to make the kind of commitment you need. And if he isn't..."

"If he isn't?" Summer looked up, tears shining in her eyes.

"Then you will spend the rest of your life alone." the Queen said sorrowfully. "You simply won't want to be with anyone else."

"But, if he loves me too..."

"Enough to marry you?"

"I know he loves me." Summer said decisively, "But he has so many commitments, Mom. I am not sure if he _can_ marry me at this time."

"How do you know he loves you?"

"He told me he does."

"Summer, I know I have taught you that a boy will say _anything_ so that they can make love to a girl. Including saying that they love you. What makes you so certain that he was telling you the truth?"

Summer opened her mouth to explain, but did not know where to start. What was it her mother was looking for? How did one go about proving that someone loved them? Finally, she turned it around.

"How do you know Dad loves _you_?"

"I know because of the little things he does. His actions show me that he loves me. But Summer, you have not been with this boy long enough to know what his actions say about his feelings."

"But I have, Mom." Summer whispered. "In the short time I have known him, he has shown me several times how much he loves me. He has put my life ahead of his; by risking his life to protect me. How do you think he became infected? For a while he fought me on becoming pregnant, because he was thinking about _my_ life after I had a child. I don't know how else I can explain that he loves me, except to wait until he is better and then have him explain it for himself."

The Queen laid her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she spoke.

"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps he really does love you. I guess you are correct, we will have to wait until he can explain his own feelings. Now, why do you think he may not be able to marry you?"

Fortunately, Summer was saved from answering this question by the return of the doctor who had examined her father.

"Your Majesty, we have gotten back the results from the tests run on both yourself and your husband. Let me assure you that the vaccine is doing its job, but because your husband was in a later stage of deterioration than your were, it is taking longer for him to recover. At this time we are giving him drugs, so that he remains unconscious and does not feel any pain. This evening we will run a few more tests and we hope we will be able to take him off the medication at that time. Meanwhile, you are recovering nicely. You probably will tire easily for the next few days, but otherwise you are in good health."

"Thank you, Doctor" Queen Tribaldi said graciously.

Summer had another thought on her mind.

"What about Mark? Why hasn't he been returned to this room?"

"He is recovering as well. His doctor thought that due to his 'special' circumstances and to allow your family some privacy, he should remain where he is." The doctor looked Summer in the eye as he spoke, attempting to convey further meaning to his words.

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor, it has been very nice having the privacy to speak with my Mother. But do you think I could go and visit with Mark, now?"

"I am sure he would appreciate that. If you would follow me, I could take you to him."

Summer turned to her Mother before she left.

"I can see that you are tired, Mother. So I'll just go and have a talk with Mark for a little bit. When you wake up I will return." Her mother nodded weakly, smiling at her.

Summer smiled back and patted the Queen's hand before she followed the doctor out of the room and down the hall to where Mark was resting. When she got to his room, she could see a lot of people inside. Mark was sitting up in his bed. His face still looked drawn, but at least it was no longer looking so pale. As she stepped into the room, she heard him arguing with the Doctor.

"… need any more. Get out! I want to be left alone."

As he pointed towards the door, he spotted her and smiled. His pointed hand relaxed and he wriggled his fingers in her direction, summoning her closer. As she moved closer, she slipped her hand into his and Mark guided her to his side.

When he eventually took his eyes off her face he looked back at the people still in his room and glowered at them. They finally got the message and left the room, while Mark leaned back onto the raised part of the bed.

"Who were they?" Summer asked.

"Them? Oh, some Doctors, Specialists, Aides and such. All wanting to report back to Anderson on my condition, and what they want to do to me next."

"Doesn't the Chief know you are recovering?"

"Sure he does. He probably knew the minute I awoke, but he's busy with the mission. So until he can get down here, they get to argue amongst themselves and make me miserable."

"You are looking much better than the last time I saw you." Summer said, taking a good look at Mark's face. "By the way, Jason wanted you to call him when you woke up. I think he was a little upset to be going out without you."

"Jason?" Mark asked, sounding surprised. "He's probably having the time of his life. Now he gets to run thing the way _he_ wants." Then Mark's eyes lit up with anger.

"He has been itching to get me out of that Command seat for ages. I guess now he has his chance, to prove that he's better at the job than I am."

Summer saw Mark's head drop back against the pillows, and his face relaxed as he released the mock anger. She smiled when she realized that this was all that it was.

"No. I know Jason;" Mark said quietly, "he will do whatever is needed and get back here as fast as possible. It's a big burden; going out worrying about a teammate who has to be left behind. We work much better as a team of five; any other number just doesn't feel right. It won't help the situation they are in right now, but I already contacted him, as soon as I was able to. It will be one less worry on all of their minds."

Summer reached out and brushed Mark's cheek. He turned his head into her hand.

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself here, but I have been worried about you. You were pulled out of the room so quickly, and then you did not return. I was worried that something had happened."

"I think the doctors decided I needed to be kept away from… non-classified people, if you understand what I mean. At least, until the Chief has decided if my 'position' should be revealed to your parents. Until then, it needs to be kept hidden. Talking about my medical situation could revel more than necessary."

"How is your 'medical situation'?" Summer asked timidly.

"The doctors say that the vaccine they created is fighting off the Spectran virus, and that the poison from the Blackbird wound has been removed. They told me they had to shut down my Cerebonics, which means I will not recover as quickly as I am used to, but it was necessary because my implant would have fought off the vaccine." Mark's eyes narrowed as he looked up into Summer's.

"You already knew that!"

She gave a quick smile.

"Yes, I was in the room when the Chief told the others about it."

"Well, the doctors say it will be about two days before the vaccine has worked its way through my system and into my cells. Then, when the doctors turn on my Cerebonics again, my implant will think the vaccine is part of my DNA, and my Cerebonics will not send out signals to fight it."

"So, I guess you get to rest in the hospital for a few days." Summer said. "That could be relaxing."

"It might be relaxing if the rest of the team weren't out fighting without me." Mark grimaced.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Summer looked down at the ground. "I should have realized..." She bit her lip. Clearly she had been correct when she had told her mother that Mark could not marry her. He had concerns much bigger than this. She couldn't mention marriage to him, ever. What were her individual needs when compared to those of the entire Federation?

"It's okay." Mark reassured her. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. Besides..." he pulled her closer to him, so that she ended up sitting next to him on the bed, "I'm feeling much better, now that you're here. "

Mark leaned his head over towards Summer, kissing her softly. The touch of his lips on hers set Summer's senses reeling. Even this small contact was suddenly reminding her of the night they had spent together, and the passion they had shared. She was beginning to understand what her mother had meant; Mark took her to heights she had never imagined. He truly was the one with whom she could spend the rest of her life.

But Mark wasn't able to make a commitment to her. She could never tell him how she felt. Perhaps it would just be better to pull away from him now, to make a clean break.

But it felt so good being in his arms. She could just be with him _now_...

"This is Chief Anderson. Come in, Mark." The Commander's bracelet lit up.

Mark pulled away lifting his arm, "Mark here, Chief."

"Mark, I knew you would be awake and concerned about the mission. I wanted to put your mind at ease and let you know the Team has been successful and are returning. I suggest you now get some rest. When the Team gets back and have debriefed we will be down to see you."

"Thank you, Chief." Mark said and then once he had closed the signal he gave a big sigh of relief and closed his eyes.

Summer watched as the last of the tension left his face, and he looked as he had the morning after they had first been physically intimate. His expression was peaceful; his problems gone. Summer reached down and grabbed the blanket, spreading it over him. Mark shifted at the movement and opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

The next thing she knew, Mark's arm was around her shoulders and he was drawing her closer to him. She could feel a deep warmth being emitted from his body, and her heart began to race. She unconsciously leaned forward and found herself kissing him passionately, long and deep. She felt one of Mark's hands on her back, while the other stroked her hair.

"You are meant to be resting." she said, Finally pulling away.

"I thought you were the one who had disturbed me." he countered with a roguish smile.

Mark shifted and helped her settle comfortably against him, and then she pulled the blanket over them both.

"What have you been doing today, besides watching over me?" Mark asked as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I have been talking to my mother." she responded, feeling Mark tense and then relax.

"I'm sorry. I had forgotten about them. How are they doing?"

"They are both recovering, just as you are. The doctors think that by tonight, my father should be well enough to be taken off the medication they have him on. Right now my mother is sleeping; just like you should be."

"Hmmm." was all Summer heard from Mark, and when she lifted her head she could see that his eyes were drifting closed. She returned her head to Mark's shoulder and closed her own eyes as well.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Get away from that Terran boy, right now!"

Summer woke with a start as someone grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her off of the bed.

As her feet hit the floor, Summer looked at the person who held her arm and realized that it was her father. The expression on his face told her that he was furious. Chief Anderson was standing in the room as well, and her mother, Jason, and the rest of Mark's team were standing at the door.

"Summer, I want you to go to your mother right now. We are leaving here immediately." He pushed her toward the door, where Jason caught her in his arms.

"Sir, it has already been explained to you that you are not strong enough to leave these facilities yet." the Chief said.

"And I already made it clear that I will _not_ be staying anywhere where my daughter has been forced into the condition she is in."

"Jason, what's going on?" Summer whispered to the Condor. Her father and the Chief continued to argue, oblivious to everyone else in the room.

"Your father woke up a few hours ago, and since then he and Anderson have been talking. Your father realized that the only way he could have been saved is through you. Then he was pissed once he realized what the Chief had allowed to happen. Now he's insisting on leaving."

"Does he know how...? That it was Mark?" Summer asked, as she turned and looked back into the room. Mark was now sitting up his eyes moving between the two men as they argued.

Then Mark added his voice to the fray.

"Your Majesty, perhaps you should listen to what Chief Anderson has to say."

King Tribaldi turned and glowered at the Commander.

"Your name was… Mark, correct? The boy who took out my daughter."

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, _boy_, you seem to know your place, and how to respect someone of my station." the King snapped. "But understand _this_: your relationship with my daughter, is _over_. We will be leaving this planet, and you will _not_ be seeing her again. She will be going to Riga, and not cavorting with Terran _children_ again."

Summer watched as Mark's eyes narrowed. Then she heard Jason mutter under his breath

"Shit, you don't want to push Mark. You don't know whom you are dealing with!"

"What's wrong with Terran children?" Mark asked, in a deceptively quiet voice.

"Nothing personally, I'm sure, but none of you are good enough for _my_ daughter." King Tribaldi declared.

Mark's back snapped straight, and his head came up as he questioned the King coldly.

"What if Summer decides she _wants_ to remain on Earth with me?"

"That is not _her_ decision to make!" the King insisted angrily. "She is still a minor, and she will be where her mother and I insist she be!"

Summer's jaw dropped to the floor. Her father had never said anything so controlling or dominating before in her life. Even when her brothers had gotten into the usual teenage scrapes, he had been understanding and had laughed it off with them, after a reasonable punishment. Why was he suddenly acting like a caveman?

"Actually..." the Chief coughed, "I apologize, your Majesty, but we will need to have access to Summer for another few months, as we perfect the vaccine for the general population. It would be far easier if she remained on Earth. Although…"

"How dare _you_ presume to tell me how to raise my daughter?" the King rounded on Anderson. "_You_, who used her without regard for her own well-being? She is coming to Riga! Last time I checked, Riga was a Federation planet. You can get your 'samples' there. Although, the mere fact that she is capable of providing these 'samples' is still a matter I intend to bring up before the Supreme Inter-Galactic Federation Court! You're going to pay for this, Anderson!"

Summer's father's face was a mottled purple and red color, and he was clearly more furious than he had ever been in his life. Summer's heart went out to him, but at the same time, she knew that she had to say something _now_, if she wanted to have a hand in her own fate.

"It's not his fault!"

"What?" The King turned to stare at his daughter.

"I said, it's not his fault." Summer repeated. "And I'll say so before any court, inter-galactic or otherwise. I _volunteered_ for this. Chief Anderson, while lacking emotional sympathy, is principled enough not to force anyone to do anything of this nature. It was _my_ choice. I _chose_ to get pregnant, to help create the vaccine. I chose the manner of that conception, and the 'donor' as well." A strange smirk came to her lips as she saw a relieved sigh cross the Chief's face. But it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"And just to remind you, Dad," she finished, "I'll be eighteen in less than a month. After that, you have no legal right to dictate what I do, in _any_ way."

Summer's father had deflated somewhat as his daughter had spoken, but this last angered him again.

"You don't understand what's going on here, Summer." he said firmly. "What I'm doing is for your own good." he continued angrily. He turned back to Mark. "And you, Mark, have hurt my daughter enough. You aren't worthy of her, and you will _never_ be seeing her again."

"I haven't been the one who has hurt Summer." Mark said in a cold voice. Jason flinched, and Summer could see that Princess, Keyop and Tiny had grown pale. She had never heard that tone in Mark's voice before, and it frightened her.

"_I_ wasn't the one who left her ignorant of her heritage, and her unique genetic properties." Mark went on in that same cold voice. " _I_ wasn't the one who left her unprepared to make a decision that had life-altering implications. However, I _was_ the one who resisted my own father to ensure that she made the decision _she_ wanted to make." He glanced over at Chief Anderson, who was now wearing his usual impassive expression.

"I regret that Summer had to sacrifice in order to help you, and her mother, and me," Mark continued, "not to mention the countless Federation citizens who will benefit from the vaccine. But I understand and appreciate that sacrifice, because that's the kind of life that I have chosen as well; to put my personal needs over the needs of others." He looked fondly over at Summer, smiling at her, and suddenly, the Mark she knew had returned.

"That being said, I intend on spending the rest of my life making it up to her." he said quietly. "A child is going to come into this world, and I, better than anyone, know how important it is that a child be raised by _two_ loving parents."

The room was deathly silent. Summer's father was speechless for a moment, but then he spoke again, breaking the eerie quiet. But this time, instead of being angry, his words were anguished.

"You really don't understand what you've done to her. This is _not_ just about the child. Summer has been changed forever..."

"Uh, Dad..." Summer glanced around nervously. "I don't think we want to get into _that_, right now." The last thing she wanted was for anyone to coerce Mark into marrying her. He had just made a heartfelt promise to help her raise their child, which she understood was an incredible commitment for his someone in his position. He didn't need to be guilted into anything else.

"You're right." her father said, turning to her. "It's time for us to go."

"Please, feel free to do so." Mark said.

As King Tribaldi took a step towards the door Anderson asked, "Where do you intend to go your Majesty?"

"I told you, we are leaving for Riga." the King said, rounding on the Chief.

"No shuttle will take you there from this facility until yours and your wife's conditions have improved." Anderson declared.

"Are you saying that you intend to keep us here as prisoners?" Summer could hear her father becoming enraged again.

As she looked around the room, trying to decide what she should do, she noticed Mark was facing in her direction, although he appeared to be looking at Jason. She saw Mark give an almost insignificant tilt of his head and then his fingers flashed open and closed.

"No, you will have full use of the facilities here, just as your daughter does." she heard the Chief respond calmly

"We will _not_ be staying." The King barked out each syllable individually, taking one step for each word.

When he arrived at the door, he reached for Summer's arm and growled.

"Come on, Summer."

Summer pulled back, stumbling against Jason, who wrapped his arms around her until she found her balance. Then so many things happened at once that she could not sort out the images and sounds until she was being rushed down the hall with Jason and the others.

_Jason whispering in her ear, "Mark wants us to take you somewhere else; somewhere safe."_

_Over her father's shoulder, Mark launching himself off his bed and towards the door, and stumbling._

_The Chief yelling at Mark, with a bit of panic in his voice, "Commander you are in no condition to move!"_

_Her father's face draining of color as he grabbed the doorjamb and slid down to the floor._

_Her mother staring white-faced at her and then taking a step toward her father._

Jason and the others took her to the lounge in the living quarters; the one in which Mark had made the decision to rescue her parents. Summer sat down on the sofa and gave a small sob.

None of this was going as she had expected. She wasn't sure what she had expected but it _definitely_ wasn't this. In her mind's eye she kept seeing her parents' faces, but it was Mark's stumbling that made her heart drop.

It felt like hours that she sat there replaying the images she saw. Princess eventually sat down beside her and took her hand.

"Things will work out. Wait and see." Princess said with a smile.

"I should have stayed there. Then I would have …" Summer began saying as she got up and faced the door, and then she froze as she saw Mark step in the room. He was still dressed in his hospital gown.

"The mission went well, I take it." Mark said to Jason quietly, as if they had been talking all along.

Jason gave a one-shouldered shrug as he said, "A few bumps and bruises for us; that's all."

"And scratches." Tiny said sorrowfully.

"What…?" Tiny said, as Jason glared at him before turning to Mark.

"The Phoenix got scratched when the Mecha exploded." the Owl explained. "Jason hasn't figured out the timing of when to order us out of the shock wave of an exploding mecha."

"I'm sure the Chief will see to it that the Phoenix is repaired." Mark chuckled.

Mark's eyes then sought out Summer's, and he walked over to her. Summer twined her arms around him as he stepped around the sofa and sat next to her.

"Mark, what are you doing here? I thought you were ill, and that you would not be leaving your room. I heard the Chief say…" Mark gave a secretive smile.

"I'm not sure the Chief really knows I'm even gone. It was a good thing, for me, that your father collapsed when he did, or I would have had a harder time getting here."

"Is he okay?"

"Your father?" Mark nodded his head. "Yes, he's fine, just exhausted. He really should have listened to the Chief and his doctor and stayed in bed as he was being told to do. He's not fit enough to be standing upright, let alone running around making demands."

Mark looked at Summer's upturned face, giving her a chaste kiss before continuing. "And then, once Anderson had gone off with the doctors to put your father back in his bed, you mother decided that she and I needed to have a talk."

Summer, who had just begun relaxing in Mark's arms, was suddenly afraid. She looked up at Mark, fearful of what she would see.

"What…?" she gulped. "What did she want to talk to you about?"

"Apparently, she wanted to know my intentions regarding you. And if what I had said about looking after _our_ child was true." Mark gave an impish grin.

"I told her I would do anything to protect you and the baby." he said. As he leaned down to give her another kiss he whispered, "I mean it as well; I will do _anything_ within my power, to keep you safe."

As they kissed, Summer's hands crept up Mark's chest and cupped his face. She pulled her lips away, looking at his face.

"But, why are _you_ here?" she asked, confused. "I saw you fall when you got out of the bed. I thought maybe…"

Mark's shaking head silenced her words.

"That was _my_ mistake. You didn't see me fall. It was… what you saw was my brain working faster than my body. My brain is still accustomed to my Cerebonics being in use. When I moved like I did, my body wasn't moving as fast as my brain thought it should." Mark gave a shrug, "So I ended up tripping over it." He gave a sudden laugh as he looked over at his second.

"You should see Jason when we turn _his_ Cerebonics off."

"Don't go there, Mark." Jason growled.

"I won't." Mark said, standing up again and turning to look at the Condor. "You guys have really come through for me, today, and I appreciate it."

"You're always the one coming through for us." Princess pointed out. "It's the least we could do."

Keyop walked hesitantly up to Summer, eying her curiously.

"Breeep... broop... are you... doot... really going to... beep... have a... burp... baby?"

"Yes." Summer nodded.

"Droot... Mark's baby?"

"Yes. That's what I..." she looked over at Mark, "that's what _we_ wanted."

"It was the only way to create the cure for King and Queen Tribaldi, and for Mark." Princess explained. "Not to mention the vaccine."

"Broop... I know..." the boy appeared confused. "Just... doot... wondering... beep... how...?"

"I think I've got something else to do." Tiny said hurriedly, moving toward the door.

"Just like you to cop out on the good stuff, Tiny." Jason grinned. "And here I thought you were his buddy!"

"I am!" Tiny insisted.

"Then I think _you_ should explain it to him." Jason insisted, collaring the large boy and bringing him back over to the couch. "Keyop, Tiny's going to tell you about the birds and the bees."

Princess took pity on Tiny and sat down next to Keyop, speaking softly to him while Jason smirked and leaned against the wall.

"Keyop, when a man and a woman love each other very much, God takes part of the man and part of the woman and..."

"You're cutting out the best part!" Jason protested.

"Do you want to be the one to do this, Jason?" Princess asked huffily, her hands on her hips.

"Maybe we should just give the Kid a demonstration." he flirted with Princess.

"I'd like to see _that_!" Tiny grinned.

"I think you already saw more than you should!" Princess reminded him, her finger wagging dangerously. "Don't you remember? That's what sent Summer running from the Chief's house!"

"Oh... yeah..." Tiny recalled, shrinking back in fear of the Swan's wrath.

"Breep... the Chief's house... broop... you mean _that_?" Keyop asked, his eyes lighting up. "That's how... dreep... babies are made?"

"Yes." Princess confirmed, her face drained of all color.

"Wow..." Keyop breathed. "So... droot... this means... beep... Mark and Summer... doot doot doot... really love each other?"

This time it was Mark who stepped forward to answer the boy's question.

"Yes, Keyop." he confirmed. "I really do love Summer. I would never have agreed to share a child with her, if I hadn't."

"Well, Mark, since you have admitted to loving Summer, and I seem to recall you saying that you would help raise your child." Summer watched as Princess turned to Mark. "So, _when_ are you going to propose to her?"

Horrified, Summer turned back to look at Mark. She could see the shock on his face, as he stammered, "I… This isn't… I'm not sure if… This wasn't what…"

"Oh, come on, Commander, it isn't _that_ hard. Just say the words." Jason noted sarcastically.

Mark turned on Jason.

"If it's so easy, how come I haven't heard you asking Princess?"

"Well, that… ummm… The Chief wouldn't allow… ahhh!" Jason was brought to silence by the expressions on both Mark's and Princess' faces.

When Mark finally brought his gaze back to her.

"Summer I … " He paused again.

"Mark, it's okay. I understand why you can't."

"Why I… _can't_?" Mark laughed, but then he looked away. "No, Summer, you have this wrong. It's not that I _can't_. Well, you're right, the Chief wouldn't be too happy. But the real issue is that…"

She watched as Mark took a shaky breath, and when he turned back to her, his cheeks were stained a bright red.

"This isn't _where_ I imagined proposing… or _how_. I imagined something more private… in a secluded park, or on a beach with the oranges and reds of a setting sun behind us."

Summer watched as Mark quickly looked away again, and she felt her eyes moisten. This man was the Eagle: one of the most feared of the Federation's fighting forces.

And he had a romantic side.

"I understand now." she whispered to him.

When Mark looked down at her again, he looked right into her eyes, and she could _feel_ his love. He took a deep breath, and then he spoke.

"If that's where we were right now, then I would tell you that I remember when I first saw you in math class. I noticed you as soon as I walked in, although I tried not to show it. Your red hair is what first attracted me to you. Then out in the hall, after class, you had the courage to come up and talk to me, and all I could see was how beautiful you truly were."

"After that, as I got to know you, I realized you were not just beautiful, but you were also very intelligent, observant, and resourceful. On our first date, when you ran into that building on fire to search for me; for the first time I knew I had found someone who cared about _me_. Not the Eagle, not their brother, or the G-Force Commander, but _me_."

"Summer, when I'm with you, I feel like I can be myself, and tell you things I tell few others. Ever since I met you, I think of you daily, and when I dream I see your radiant smile, your glowing eyes, and your beautiful face in my mind. You make me happy and I hope you can see that you have my heart. I love you, Summer, but…"

Mark took his eyes off of her for just a moment, looking down at the floor, and when he looked back he whispered.

"I don't have a ring right now, but will you marry me?"

Everyone looked expectantly at Summer. The room was so silent, that a pin could have been heard dropping. She knew exactly what they all wanted her to say.

But she couldn't do it.

Not without making certain that it was the _right_ thing to do.

"Mark," she began, "you know that I love you. And this proposal is so sweet and romantic... it's like a dream come true! But I have to wonder if it's what _you_ truly want."

Mark opened his mouth to speak, but Summer put up a hand, cutting off his words.

"Man, it must be true love!" Jason commented. "I've never been able to stop him speaking his mind that easily."

The Condor grunted heavily as the Swan elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Summer ignored Jason's remark (it was easy enough to do; she was somewhat used to them by now) and went on.

"You said that you spoke to my mother." Summer went on. "I think I know what she said. And I'm wondering how much of that has to do with your decision to propose."

Mark opened his mouth again, and again Summer held up her hand.

"You said that you wanted to be there for our baby, and protect it." she continued. "I'm also wondering how much of this proposal is because of our child. Do you want to marry me to be a father to our child?"

A third time Mark attempted to speak. This time Summer silenced him with a soft kiss.

"I just want you to know that you don't have to marry me for _either_ of those reasons." she said. "You can be as much a part of my life, and our baby's life, as you want. I'm not going to put any obligations on you. I'll sign legal papers, if you want. But I don't want to marry you, unless this is what _you_ want... because _you_ want to be with _me_... for the rest of our lives."

Mark smiled. He looked expectantly at Summer, and smiled again when he realized that she had finished talking. Then he pulled her into his arms and placed his mouth on hers, kissing her thoroughly amidst the cheers and whistles of the rest of the G-Force Team.

"I would never have asked you otherwise." he whispered. "I want to be with _you_. For the rest of our lives. The baby is just an added bonus."

"Really?" Summer's eyes were shining. She could hardly believe that everything she had dreamed of was coming true. Mark nodded, an amused expression on his handsome face.

"Then yes, I will marry you, Mark." Summer smiled. "Whenever and wherever you want!"

"Awesome! Let's go to Jill's and grab some beer, and I think the Chief will do the ceremony for you..." Jason suggested. He was silenced by another sharp elbow hit from Princess.

"I think Summer and Mark should have a _real_ wedding." she said dreamily. "On the beach, with Summer wearing a beautiful white gown, riding along the shoreline on a white horse with garlands of flowers streaming from her hair..."

"Sissy!" Keyop burbled. "Want... droot... Barbie's Dream House... beep... too?"

"Yeah!" Tiny added. "Everyone knows the perfect wedding is at the Chez Nous restaurant! They've got the best catering in town!"

The four began to argue good-naturedly, and Mark grabbed Summer by the hand.

"I think we should have some time alone." he said meaningfully.

"I couldn't agree more." Summer blushed.

No one noticed as the newly engaged couple slipped out of the room.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next morning the couple was awoken by Mark's communicator chirping. Summer groaned as she turned over and saw Mark raise his wrist.

"Mark here."

"You disappeared from the Clinic last night, Mark." The Chief voice came from the device. "I would like you back here, so that we can check on your condition."

"I don't suppose you could give me a couple more hours of sleep, huh? Considering I'm on medical leave."

"Commander..." the Chief growled.

"Yes, Sir." Mark smiled. "I'll be there shortly."

"Mark, bring Summer with you. Her parents would like to speak with her." Anderson said, as he signed off.

It did not take the two long to get dressed and for Summer to find herself walking beside Mark down the hall to the Clinic. She reached out to hold Mark's hand, and noticed how tense he was.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"The Chief is planning something."

"How do you know?"

"First, he knew he could find you through me. And second… his tone. He's…" Mark didn't finish but continued into the Clinic.

After they stepped inside, Mark looked around and a medic pointed them in the direction of the back rooms, holding up his fingers to indicate room four. Summer found herself leading Mark down the hall and into room four. As they entered, she saw her parents seated inside and she felt Mark freeze at her back.

"Mom, Dad... I thought this was for…" Summer was flustered. She turned toward Mark, confused. He had been backing out of the room when Anderson came up behind him. "Sorry to do things this way, Mark, but the five of us need to talk."

Summer saw Mark give the Chief a cold look, but Anderson ignored it and walked to a chair, pulling it out. He then walked around to the next chair and sat down, waving to the first.

"Sit, Mark."

And then, turning to Summer, the Chief pointed to the chair beside her Mother.

"Summer, please sit." he asked her politely. Summer was shocked. This was the most civil tone she had ever heard coming from Mark's father.

Summer sat down in the proffered chair, but when she noticed that Mark had not moved she looked back at him. She realized that she knew him well enough now that she could read his moods. He had not yet reached Eagle intensity, but he was far from the easy-going Mark she knew. His face and eyes told her that he was assessing the situation, and trying to decide on his best move.

Chief Anderson must have seen this, because he gave a sigh, but it was her father who spoke.

"We gather the two of you had an eventful evening last night."

"What?" Summer gasped. "How did you find out?"

Once again, she glanced at Mark, this time hoping for some comfort from him. But he wasn't looking at her, and his expression was guarded. It was Queen Tribaldi who reached out and gave her hand a pat, and when Summer turned to her, her Mother gave a smile. King Tribaldi continued addressing Mark.

"Last night, when Chief Anderson discovered that you had left the clinic, he contacted one of your brothers. Keyop, I believe it was. He happened to mention that your brothers and sister were trying to arrange where a wedding should take place, now that you had proposed to my daughter."

Summer felt fear well up inside. What would happen if her father started ranting, as he had the previous night? She wasn't sure if she could face all that again. But when Mark sat down, it caught her attention. He had relaxed, and he was even wearing a small smile. She didn't understand; what had she missed?

Mark's eyes met hers and he gave her a warm smile, before looking back to her father and the Chief.

"You don't appear to be too upset by this news, Sir."

"Oh, I was furious when Chief Anderson told me what had happened. First, you spirit my daughter away from me while I am ill, and then, while I am recovering, you propose to her!" The king glowered at Mark before he continued.

"You have courage, boy. If I had found you, then I would have torn you to shreds. It took your good Chief Anderson here, and my dear wife, to get me to understand a few things, and to listen to reason. Apparently, the talk my wife and you had led her to believe that a marriage is meant to be."

"Thank you, Sir. We believe it is." Mark said, looking at Summer and giving her another smile.

"Good! So, what are your intentions now? For the wedding that is." King Tribaldi asked.

Summer opened her mouth to respond, but her Queen Tribaldi squeezed her hand. When she looked over, her mother was shaking her head.

"Let the men folk handle this." the Queen whispered in Summer's ear. "For some reason, it makes them feel important."

"Um," Mark started after glancing at Summer, "we hadn't really talked about that yet."

"Good," Her father gave a huge sigh of relief, "because I got the feeling from what your brothers were saying, when the Chief asked them to stop by, that you were looking for a quick wedding, possibly even today. Summer's Mother and I would really like to be involved in our daughter's wedding, and I must insist that I be the one to give away my only daughter." He finished with a happy smile. Summer's mother then took the opportunity to speak up,

"A good wedding takes a long time to prepare for. But I really do not think we can take _too_ long. I would love to see you married _before_ you have your child, Summer."

"Yes, yes. Of course, Dear." King Tribaldi said, turning to his wife and patting her arm. He then turned to address Summer.

"All of the preparations will give you time to remain with Chief Anderson, so he can continue to perfect this vaccine for the general population. He has said that you can remain at his mansion and continue with your last two months of high school, which is something else we _insist_ you do Summer."

Summer could feel herself getting angry and she glared at the three adults sitting at the table.

"So, while I was sleeping, you three have mapped out my entire life for the next few months, have you?"

"Well, Dear, you _are_ pregnant and we only wanted to take some of the stress and pressure off of you." her father explained.

"Just because I'm pregnant, you think I cannot make decisions for myself? What you decided may even be what I would like, but it still would have been nice to have been included in this conversation, and to have been asked, not dictated to." Summer stated indignantly.

"Summer, please …" said King Tribaldi.

"And if I am to be returning to school, why can't I stay with you, instead of at the Chief's house?" Summer continued.

"As I said last night your mother and I are going to Riga." her father replied calmly. "We need to be there for a while to have discussions with the Federation Council. Since we are not going to be around Chief Anderson made the suggestion, and we agreed to let you stay with him. It all fit together so nicely. I am sorry if this upsets you. We could find somewhere else for you to stay, if you wanted."

Summer heard the Chief give a cough as her father made that suggestion.

"Hmm?" Her father said, as he turned to look at the Chief. "Oh, yes, the vaccine problem."

"Not to mention, the Spectrans are still after you, Summer." Mark pointed out. "I would hate for you be in danger. They attacked you at your parents' house, just last week."

"You're right, Mark." Summer sighed. "I would hate to put this baby in danger, after everything we've been through. But, the idea of staying with the Chief..." Summer blushed as she realized that the man was still in the room. She didn't want to say it out loud, but Chief Anderson frightened her. He was so single-minded, and it seemed that more often than not, his interests and Mark's didn't coincide.

"But I can understand why you don't want to return to Chief Anderson's house." Mark added, and Summer smiled softly. It was amazing how Mark was able to read her so well. "I suggest that you stay with me, at my airfield. When I'm... on assignment... you can come back here, or to the Chief's house, whatever you prefer. I can even escort you to and from school, and the medical research facilities at Galaxy Security Headquarters."

"That would be wonderful." Summer blushed.

"So, what do you think?" Mark asked, in a tone that made it clear that he didn't except anything other than immediate acceptance of his offer.

"I guess I'm going to have to agree." Anderson sighed. He knew how far he could push the Commander, and he had clearly reached the limit.

"It is not appropriate for the two of you to live together before marriage!" the King declared.

"Not even for my own protection?" Summer asked.

"There are other people who could protect you." her father replied.

"Well, Dear, she's _already_ pregnant... I'm not sure there's much to be gained by keeping them apart." the Queen pointed out. "And if it makes her happy..."

The King paused for a moment, sighing deeply.

"I suppose you're right, Dear." he said to his wife. Summer's mother turned and gave her daughter a little smirk, as if to say, 'See? That's how you handle a man!'

"Now, Mark," the King began, "there are several royal customs I would like to incorporate into the wedding, not to mention Pixtarian traditions. But are there any human traditions you would like to follow?"

"Well, actually, I'm not human." Mark admitted.

"You're not?" the Queen asked, surprised.

"No." Mark shook his head. "I'm Rigan."

"I didn't know that!" Summer exclaimed.

"It's not exactly something I advertise." Mark said.

"Rigan! Well, now!" the King was beaming. "This makes a big difference. Did you know that Rigans and Pixtarians are related. Mark?"

"No, I didn't." Mark replied.

"My, the educational system on Riga must be deficient for leaving out such an important part of your planetary history." the King huffed.

"Actually, I've been living with the Chief, here on Earth, since I was four." Mark explained. "I was educated here, and was unaware of my Rigan heritage until recently. My parents died when I was quite young." A dark expression crossed over the young man's face, and Summer could see that this wasn't all to the story. But she let the matter lie. There was plenty of time to discuss these things later.

"Well, let me relate the history of our peoples." Summer's father began. "Nearly five centuries ago, our people lived on a planet known as Rigtar. Our world came under attack by the Spectrans, who used a terrible device to shift the orbit of the planet. We were moving further away from the sun, and within two years, Rigtar was so cold that it was basically uninhabitable. Our people evacuated, searching for a new home. There were two expeditionary teams, and each one found a planet suitable for habitation."

"Riga and Pixtar?" Mark guessed.

"Yes." the King beamed. "Each planet had different advantages, and every citizen of Rigtar chose where they would like to settle. For the next two or three centuries, the two planets kept in touch, but then political relationships drifted apart somewhat. However, when the Spectrans destroyed Pixtar, many of our citizens who were able to flee ended up on Riga. This is why we wished to send Summer there."

"So... you're saying that basically, I'm Pixtarian?" Mark asked.

"Not entirely, as there have been some genetic modifications in our two races, caused by differing radiation exposures from the suns on our different planets, but seeing as how there are only about a thousand Pixtarians left, the royal family has actively been encouraging intermarriage with the Rigan people, in order to perpetuate our race and culture."

"So... by marrying Mark, I'm actually following a royal decree?" Summer was amazed.

"It's going to be one hell of a wedding." Chief Anderson commented dryly.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Over the next three months, Summer could not believe how busy she was. After Mark had recovered and his Cerebonics were working again he took her to his airfield. As he had suggested to her parents, he had escorted her to and from school, and every three to four days he had taken her to the medical facilities at Galaxy Security Headquarters.

Summer had managed to write her exams and even attend her prom on Mark's arm. She had not thought Mark was going to be able to attend. The team had been sent out on a mission two days earlier and had not arrived back until the morning before the prom. Mark had slept for a few hours, and had then insisted on taking her.

During all of this, her mother had sent messages from Riga about how the preparations for the wedding were going. She had then arrived for a day or two and taken Summer out on various errands, to ensure all would be finalized on time.

The few times when it had gotten to be too much for Summer, Mark had taken her away to one place or another where they could be alone. These times had been short, but they had been long enough for the two of them to connect again.

Now that school was over and the big day approaching, Summer's biggest fear was that Mark would be off on a mission the day of the wedding. How would she be able to explain that to all the guests, let alone her parents?

88888

Summer stood in front of the full length mirror, her mother fussing with minor adjustments to her wedding gown while Princess gushed over how beautiful she looked. Summer smiled at herself in the mirror, but the image faltered as she nervously twisted at her hands. She was about to marry Mark... hopefully. The wedding had already been postponed twice, due to various emergency calls for the team. It had been difficult explaining matters to her parents, much less to all of the guests, but she had told them a partial truth: that Mark was involved with Galaxy Security Forces fighting Spectra. Since they already knew that he held the title of 'Commander', it wasn't really revealing much. Given that her family had survived the destruction of two home planets by the Spectran Empire, everyone had turned out to be very understanding about the entire thing.

But today was the day. Just yesterday, the team had destroyed a mecha approaching Neptune, and it had been Mark's pleasure to push the shiny red button usually reserved for Jason.

"You're not interrupting my wedding for a third time, Zoltar!" he had shouted.

Summer had giggled softly when Princess had related the story, but now her stomach was a ball of knots. She was getting married to the most dangerous fighter in the Federation... and also the most wonderful. The past four months had been like a dream. She still lived in fear whenever Mark was called away, but every time he had come home had been a wonderful reunion for them.

She was looking forward to the rest of their life together.

"Mark wanted you to have this." Princess whispered, snapping a bracelet around Summer's wrist. It was an elegant twisted rope of gold and platinum, with the Rigan word for 'forever' cleverly woven into the threads. "He said that it belonged to his mother, and he would be happy if you wore it, today."

"Oh, Princess..." Summer sniffed, tears coming to her eyes. "This is so beautiful... Mark is so beautiful... our life together will be..."

"Beautiful!" laughed Princess. "Not to mention that gorgeous baby that's coming. He's going to be beautiful too!"

"He?" Summer asked. "You're so certain, then?"

"Just a feeling." the Swan winked at her.

"It's time, Summer." her mother said, and she placed a shimmering sheer cloth over Summer's head. It was a traditional Pixtarian bridal veil, and this one was unique to the royal family, as it sparkled with Rigan diamonds and Aquatican turquoise stones in a brilliant display of light and color. The material itself was so sheer that from afar, as Summer moved, it looked as if she were surrounded by a cloud of incredible, glittering lights.

"It is time for the Proving Ceremony." Summer's father said, taking her arm and leading her out into the hall. The crowd rose, gasping at the bride's beauty. Her creamy skin was wrapped in a single piece of cloth of gold fabric, shot through with platinum threads. It was draped loosely at her shapely legs, to allow for walking and dancing, but tightly at the hips, waist, and breasts, to demonstrate her ability to bear children. Of course, the small curve on her normally flat stomach also gave evidence to Summer's fertility, but no one made any mention of that. The gown wound up and over her left shoulder, leaving the top of her right breast bare, then spilling down her back and past her feet, to create a small train. Other than Mark's mother's bracelet, she wore no jewelry. Her glorious fiery hair was the only other adornment she needed.

It would have been perfect, except for one thing.

Behind them, Summer's three older brothers were escorting her mother. Summer could hear them muttering angrily.

"I can't believe she's marrying this guy!"

"Just some long-haired loser who got her pregnant?"

"Summer's too young to be forced into marriage!"

"We have to teach this guy who's boss!"

"We can't have the slimeball who took advantage of our baby sister thinking he can treat her any way he darn well pleases!"

"Don't worry, we'll let him know what will happen if he doesn't treat her right."

Summer rolled her eyes. She had spent the last week explaining to her brothers exactly what had happened with her and Mark, but clearly they didn't believe her. They had become fiercely protective of her, and had refused to believe anything other than the idea that Mark had somehow taken advantage of her, and was attempting to increase his 'status' by marrying into the Pixtarian Royal Family. She knew Mark could take care of himself, but she didn't want her brothers embarrassing either of them, or ruining the wedding. For all they were her _older_ brothers, they could be so childish!

They reached the dais, her father ascending with her and escorting her over to the Throne of Honor in the center of the stage, while he seated himself to her right. Summer's mother sat to her left, while her brothers sat on her mother's left. Since Summer had no sisters, no one sat on her father's right. The wedding guests were seated in rows all along the walls of the Hall, leaving the center of the room bare.

The Proving Ceremony was an ancient Pixtarian tradition. In modern times, it was usually reduced to a father presenting his son to the bride's family as a token gesture during the Joining Ceremony, but for the Pixtarian Royals, a much more elaborate series of events had to take place.

As Summer and her family settled into their thrones, Chief Anderson walked into the center of the room, approached the dais, and bowed, first to Summer, then to her father, and then her mother.

"Your Highness, your Majesties," the Chief said, "I humbly thank you for allowing me to speak with you on this glorious day. I am Galaxy Security Chief William Anderson..."

The Chief went on to present all of his credentials, which were surprisingly many and varied. Summer felt her eyelids drooping, until the subject changed to something of much more interest to her.

"I wish to present to you, my son, Mark Turner, as a husband for your beautiful daughter, her most Royal Highness, the Princess Summer."

"And what are this man's qualifications?" asked King Tribaldi, in a booming voice.

"Mark is not my natural son." Anderson admitted. "He came to live with me when he was four years old, after his father died in an airplane crash and his mother passed away of a strange illness. But I love him as if he were my true son, all the same. Since the time he was a small boy, he has always had the utmost respect for all people, and has demonstrated a remarkable intelligence..."

This was more like it. Summer hung on every word. Chief Anderson could talk about Mark all day, and she would eagerly listen.

Of course, if he talked all day, they would never get to the Joining Ceremony... or the wedding night. Summer blushed at the thought of what was to come.

When the Chief was done, Princess stepped forward. As the only other female in the family, she was acting on behalf of Mark's deceased mother. The only other alternative had been Granny Anderson, the Chief's ancient and dotty grandmother. She had been known to make lime green Jello molds in the shape of 7-Zark-7. Everyone had agreed that Princess was clearly the better choice.

"I am Princess Anderson." she said in a loud, clear voice. "I am Mark's sister, speaking on his mother's behalf."

Out of the corner of her eye, Summer saw her brothers sitting up suddenly and taking notice. They couldn't seem to tear their eyes away from Princess. Summer smiled to herself. Jason was going to have something to say about that. Come to think of it, where _was_ Jason? He and Keyop and Tiny should have been placed at the back wall, just where Princess and the Chief had been standing. But they were suspiciously absent...

Summer had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Princess explained how Mark had always been a wonderful brother, and how he was good with children, as well as describing how he had always helped her, and their brothers, out when they had had a problem. She even talked about when Mark and Summer had met and fallen in love. Summer thought she did a beautiful job. However her three brothers, while clearly appreciative of Princess' appearance, were not as impressed by her words.

When Princess had finished speaking, King Tribaldi stood up.

"We find Mark Turner worthy in character." he declared, so that everyone in the Hall could hear. The Queen quickly stood up and offered her agreement. Summer just sat and smiled.

The Chief bowed again, and Princess performed a graceful curtsey, before withdrawing. Summer's brothers stood up and filed out a rear door, wearing smirks on their faces. Summer could tell that they were up to no good, and she nervously twisted her hands together as she watched helplessly from the dais.

"Now, we invite Mark Turner to prove his worthiness in physical skills." the King announced.

A door on the opposite side of the Hall opened, and Mark entered, wearing only a pair of workout shorts. The curves of his muscular chest fascinated Summer, and she found her thoughts again drifting to the wedding night. Audible feminine sighs of appreciation were heard from around the audience. The door next to the dais opened, and Summer's three brothers entered, similarly garbed. They moved into position, preparing attack stances.

Summer bit her lip nervously. Clearly Mark was an excellent fighter, and could handle her brothers. But this combat was for show purposes only, and he had to follow the moves perfectly, lest it appear too staged, or someone get hurt. Summer knew that Mark fought instinctively, but her brothers did not, and she didn't want them getting injured.

However, Mark had no chance to follow the prescribed routine, as the three young men charged him simultaneously, clearly out for blood. They had abandoned the pre-set moves, hoping to catch the groom off guard.

Unfortunately for the young Princes, they had no idea with whom they were dealing. Mark whirled on one foot, kicking the first opponent to approach him in the stomach, while simultaneously hitting the second in the neck on what was clearly a sensitive nerve, based on the yelp of pain the young man gave. The third Prince was met with Mark's other hand, and the Eagle easily and cleanly threw the young man over his shoulder.

Mark stood, unmoving, surrounded by the fallen bodies of Summer's brothers. None of them were seriously injured, but it was clear that all of them would be feeling their bruises later that day.

The three Princes groaned, and Danton, Summer's eldest brother, rose slowly to his feet. Summer held her breath, waiting to see what would happen. But to her surprise, Danton sheepishly held out his hand to the groom. Mark hesitated only a moment, then took it, speaking in a low voice that Summer couldn't hear. Danton threw back his head and laughed loudly, and everyone in the audience began clapping. Summer's other brothers stood up as well, shaking Mark's hand and clapping him on the shoulder.

It appeared that the three princes had revised their opinion of their new brother-in-law.

Summer sighed with relief. It was going to work out. Nothing was going to spoil their wedding now.

Mark and the Princes left the Hall, and King Tribaldi stood up again, declaring Mark physically fit to marry Summer and father children with her. Summer giggled at this last. Whether or not her father considered him 'worthy', his fitness to father children was _hardly_ in question.

A small band moved over to the corner of the room, where their instruments had been set up. To Summer's surprise, Princess joined them, picking up a guitar that had been leaning against a microphone stand. The music began, and Summer smiled to herself. Next to the actual wedding night, this was what she had been looking forward to the most.

"And now, we shall see if Mark Turner is capable of pleasing the Princess Summer." King Tribaldi announced.

The band began playing a soft, romantic tune, while Summer nearly bounced in her seat in expectation of what was to come. The door at the far end of the Hall opened again, and Mark entered, wearing the traditional formal garments of the Rigan nobility. A high-collared midnight blue jacket had been tailored to fit him so well that Summer felt certain the she could still see the shape of his body beneath. Or perhaps she was just fondly remembering his garb of the previous test. Long, slim cut pants in a matching color and dark shoes completed the ensemble, and Summer thought that she had never seen him looking more handsome, even in his Eagle uniform. Her heart pounded as he walked the length of the Hall, not taking his eyes off of her for even a second, oblivious to the admiring glances of the women in the audience as he passed by.

Slowly, he ascended the stairs to the dais, bowing respectfully to the King and Queen, before moving over to where Summer sat.

"Princess Summer," he said, his voice low, yet clear enough to be heard by everyone present, "you have captivated me from the moment we first met. You outshine every other woman in the room as a diamond outshines the pebbles on the beach. I would be honored if you would accompany me in this dance." He held out his hand, palm up, in invitation.

Summer couldn't help giggling softly. She knew that Mark had rehearsed his speech, and yet the way he spoke made it seem so heartfelt and spontaneous, and the intense look in his eyes told her that he meant every word. She placed her hand into his, and slowly rose, silently nodding her assent.

Mark led Summer out to the dance floor, exhibiting the grace she had seen displayed in his combat with her brothers. Only this time, instead of exhibiting the lethal efficiency she had seen there, his movements were protective, and loving. She felt safe and secure in his arms, and forgot everything as he whirled her around the floor in time to the music. The memorized steps to their intricate dance were gone, and she relied on her instinct and Mark's ability to lead, her laughter tinkling across the Hall as they effortlessly turned and glided in front of the wedding guests.

Mark's eyes remained locked on hers, his hand firmly on her slightly thickened waist as her fingers rested lightly on his shoulder. His expression was both smoldering, and promising, and she found herself growing weak at the knees. She would have collapsed to the floor if he had not been holding her so firmly in his arms, and the sensation of being supported by his strength alone caused her nearly to swoon again.

All too soon, the music ended, and Summer and Mark finished their dance with a flourish; Mark dipping Summer so low that her hair splayed out across the floor, before gracefully righting her again, so that she could curtsey to her parents while he bowed. The King and Queen were giving them a standing ovation, as were the rest of the guests. It was clear to everyone who had seen them, her brothers included, that Summer and Mark were completely infatuated with each other, and made the perfect couple.

"This young man is well accomplished in social skills." stated King Tribaldi. "The Queen and I find him an acceptable groom for our only daughter. Princess Summer, do you find him worthy?"

Summer turned slowly as she spoke, addressing not just her parents, but her brothers, the other wedding guests, and finally, Mark himself.

"I find him _more_ than worthy, Father." she declared proudly. "He has captured my affections, _and_ my heart." She turned to Mark.

"Mark, will you be Joined with me?" she asked prettily.

Mark's answer was to cup her face tenderly in his hands, kissing her deeply.

"I would have no other." he answered. "Yes, I will be Joined with you, Summer."

"Then, let Mark and Summer be Joined!" declared her father.

To Summer, it seemed as if the entire room was spinning about her as Mark led her up to the top of the dais and back to her throne, standing protectively at her side, slightly displacing her father, as was tradition. A veritable army of attendants poured forth, picking up and re-arranging the chairs of the guests, laying down a long, royal blue carpet, and setting up everything else required for the Joining Ceremony. The movement of so many working in concert was in itself almost like a ballet; each person moving effortlessly and in perfect conjunction with everyone else.

Within minutes, the guests were re-settled in chairs in the middle of the floor, facing the dais. The Tribaldi family's thrones had been moved to the main floor as well, and only Summer and Mark remained on the dais.

An elderly man in silver robes shuffled down the aisle. This was the High Priest of Pixtar, and he was not only the oldest known Pixtarian, but was also rumored to be the last surviving Rigtarian. The Rigan/Pixtarian lifespan averaged about four hundred years, and this man was over five hundred. He approached the young couple, making his way up to the dais and greeting them with a stately nod.

"Congratulations, Princess Summer, upon the day of your Joining Ceremony!" he said warmly, and while his body was frail, his voice was anything but. "It pleases me to see that you have maintained the Royal Pixtarian traditions that harken back to the Mother Planet of us all, our dearly departed Rigtar."

Everyone present bowed their head for a moment, in honor of the planet that had been lost to the hatred of the Spectran Empire.

"But today is not about this long-ago tragedy. It is about our great joy in seeing Mark and Summer choose each other for their Joining. " the High Priest continued. He turned Mark and Summer so that they were standing side by side, facing the audience, and walked slowly around the pair, sprinkling sacred stardust in a circle that encompassed only them. Mark held Summer's hands in his, and she suddenly had a spiritual vision: their life together would be a long and happy one. No one, not even Zoltar himself, would ever come between them.

Summer beamed as the High Priest finished his first task, and then addressed the crowd again.

"The Circle is the Galaxy's perfect form!" he declared. "It has no corners or breaks to mar its perfection, and its shape is echoed throughout the Universe in the form of planets, moons, orbits and suns. The Circle encompasses all, and now, Mark and Summer have created their own Circle of love for each other, as signified by the sacred stardust which I have spread around them."

He stepped forward, spreading his arms wide.

"And now, I call the families of Mark, and Summer, to come forth and participate in their Joining."

Slowly, King and Queen Tribaldi arose, as did Summer's three brothers, Chief Anderson, and Princess. They all made their way to the stairs and up to the top of the dais.

But not everyone was present.

Summer glanced worriedly at Mark, and she saw concern reflected in his eyes as well.

Where were Jason, Keyop and Tiny?

The family members filed onto the dais, and were arranged by the High Priest around the Circle. But just as the elderly man was approaching the noticeable gap left by three missing brothers, a trio of tuxedo-clad young men entered the Hall from the door next to the dais, and quickly approached. Their appearance was slightly disheveled, and their bow ties somewhat askew, but they were present. Jason grinned devilishly at Mark, and winked at Summer, as if to mock them for their thought that perhaps the three young men were not going to appear at all.

Mark scowled so quickly at Jason that Summer wondered if she had even seen the expression at all, but then her attention was called back to the ceremony, as the High Priest finished placing the late arrivals around the Circle. He turned back to the audience.

"The Ring is the symbol of the Circle of love, which Mark and Summer have created." he announced. "It is unbroken, whole, and pure. Mark and Summer, will you wear these rings as a symbol of your love?"

"We will." Mark and Summer answered together, their words strong and clear. The High Priest handed them their rings, and simultaneously they slid them onto each other's hands, raising the hands and kissing the fingers where they now resided.

"Summer," asked the High Priest, "do you accept this man into your life, knowing that he will be your one true love, and the father of your children?"

"Yes." she breathed, nearly overcome with the giddy excitement of the moment. "I do."

"Then, demonstrate your respect for your new husband." she was instructed.

Tenderly, Summer brushed her fingers across Mark's forehead, then down across his temple, along his cheek, and over his lips. She removed her fingers, pressing them reverently against her own mouth.

"Mark," the High Priest continued, "do you accept this woman into your life, knowing that she will be your one true love, and the mother of your children?"

"Yes." he said, smiling. "I do."

"Then, demonstrate your respect for your new wife, and for her power as the carrier and giver of Life."

Mark nodded solemnly, bending down to reverently place a whispering kiss on the top of Summer's partially exposed right breast, paying homage to her feminine form. As his lips touched her skin, Summer blushed deeply, a soft pink color suffusing her cheeks. She recalled the first time Mark had kissed her there, after her bath in Princess' tub...

Mark looked up into her eyes as he rose again, amusement glimmering behind his intent gaze. She knew without a doubt that the same memory was being replayed in his mind as well.

"Mark and Summer have declared before all their love for each other." the High Priest announced. "They are now Joined!"

An enormous cheer erupted in the room, and all of the guests in the audience stood, clapping and cheering wildly. Summer looked around at her beaming family, and over at Chief Anderson and his other foster children. The Chief was actually smiling; something that Summer would never have thought possible. Princess, Jason, Keyop and Tiny grinned at her, and she knew without a doubt that they had accepted her into their family as well.

"Let the Celebration begin!" King Tribaldi declared.

Tiny looked eagerly around the room.

"Is this the part where we get to eat?" he whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

It was time to eat.

Almost.

Summer and Mark were led to the middle positions at a large head table that had been placed on the patio just outside the Hall. The summer sunshine warmed the air, making it fragrant and sweet, as everyone else filed in to their assigned positions. The Banquet was about to begin.

But not without the requisite speeches.

Tiny and Keyop surreptitiously gnawed on ill-gotten breadsticks as King Tribaldi spoke for nearly half an hour on the positive attributes of (in order), Summer, Mark, Joining, Riga, Pixtar, and the Rigtarian race. He was just about to switch to the topic of Federation Alliances when his wife gently tugged at his sleeve. Summer's father flushed, then politely wrapped up his speech to a smattering of applause. Everyone was ready for their meal.

In deference to the G-Force Team's alternate persona, Summer had opted not to serve any kind of fowl or bird on the menu. She had also decided on offering only Earth foods, to honor the Terran upbringing she and Mark had both experienced. The appetizer consisted of slivers of sake-seared wild salmon on a bed of Portobello mushroom risotto, accompanied by Gorgonzola cheese and sun-dried tomato crostini. A salad of sweetpea shoots, endive, sweet mandarin slices, and brown-sugar-glazed walnuts was served next, followed by a lightly chilled strawberry soup.

Everything was delicious, and Tiny made many appreciative comments between courses, but Summer and Mark only had eyes for each other. After all of her detailed planning, Summer found that all she really needed to enjoy her day was to be with Mark.

A ginger pear sorbet was served to cleanse the palate, and then the dual entree of and prawns Wellington, and filet mignon stuffed with goat cheese feta, garlic, and braised greens. This was accompanied by herbed risotto cakes and grilled Pine nut white asparagus.

To finish the meal, a selection of candied violets, chocolate dipped strawberries, and truffles were passed around by waiters.

To end the Banquet, Summer and Mark presided over the cutting of a six layer Pixtarian mousse cake, decorated with exotic fruits and berries from four different planets. They daintily sampled each layer, proclaiming it fit for all.

"Wow... I think I need to get married..." Tiny mused.

"Breep... gotta find... broop... a girl!" Keyop joked.

"There certainly do seem to be some benefits to it." Jason remarked, casting a sidelong glance in Princess' direction.

Summer felt wonderful, floating over to the dance floor to begin the next portion of the Celebration. The band played again, and the strains of 'Everything I Do' started up as Mark and Summer danced again, delighting the crowd before the guests joined them. Summer found herself partnered by every young man in attendance, including her three brothers, and sons of the many Federation dignitaries who were attending this important function. Tiny and Keyop each took her around the dance floor once as well, and then she found herself in Jason's arms, turning lightly to the music.

"Where were you?" Summer asked as they whirled around. "Mark and I were wondering if you were going to show at all!"

"Don't blame me." Jason smirked. "Seems that Zoltar just couldn't keep his nose out of the festivities. The idea of a Royal Princess of Pixtar marrying Galaxy Security Chief Anderson's son was too much to resist, I guess."

"What?" Summer gasped. "Zoltar was here?"

"Relax, Beautiful!" Jason grinned, dipping her back and taking a good look at her artfully arranged décolletage. "Obviously, I took care of it. After all, it was only a few goons. It's not like he knew who Mark _really_ was."

"Well, thank you, Jason, for dealing with that." Summer smiled. "It would have been incredibly embarrassing to have them break in on the Ceremonies."

"I figured that one out all on my own." Jason winked.

"Princess is a lucky girl." Summer murmured, standing up on tiptoe and kissing Jason on the cheek as the dance ended.

"Mark's pretty lucky himself." Jason smiled, as Mark approached them.

"It's _my_ wedding, and I've barely danced with my bride, and now I see her kissing strange men!" he laughed.

"Just wanted to let Jason know what he was missing." Summer grinned.

"Oh, I got a good look at that!" Jason laughed, his eyes darting to Summer's half-exposed breast.

"I think you have somewhere else to be, Jason." Mark pointed out Princess heading towards their position as he whirled Summer away across the dance floor.

Once they were on the edges of the crowd, Mark bent down to whisper in Summer's ear.

"I think we've fulfilled our bridal obligations, don't you?" he said teasingly.

"Oh, yes..." Summer agreed, her face glowing as they slipped out into the warm Rigan evening.

She couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding.


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

Epilogue

"Where is he?" Summer asked frantically, grasping at her mother's hand with an iron grip. "I need Mark..."

"Chief Anderson said that he was coming as quickly as he could." the Queen reassured her. "Something about an important mission, and he couldn't be contacted right away..."

Summer knew what that meant. Spectra had attacked some planet with a giant mecha, and G-Force were the only ones who could stop it. She understood how important Mark's job was, she really did. And under any other circumstances she would just wait until he returned. She knew that his presence was more important on the Phoenix, right now.

But did that purple bastard have to stage an attack just as she was going into labor?

Summer groaned again, another cramp overtaking her. The nurse raised an eyebrow, and Summer nodded, silently accepting the epidural that had been on hold since her arrival at Center City Memorial Hospital.

The blessed relief flowed through her, and Summer felt her body relax.

"Ten centimeters dilated, Summer." the doctor informed her. "It's time to start pushing."

"But, Mark's not here!" she protested.

"I'm afraid this isn't going to wait." the doctor pointed out.

"Just a little bit longer..." Summer moaned.

"Where is she?" they heard a familiar voice demanding out in the hallway.

"Mark!" Summer cried joyfully. "Mom, can you please send him in?"

"Of course, Summer." the Queen smiled. "I'll be in the Waiting Room with your father, if you need me."

A moment after the Queen left the room, a harried-looking Mark entered, accompanied by a bemused Princess.

"Did I make it?" Mark asked frantically.

"Yes." Summer grinned, relieved. "I've just been ordered to start pushing."

"You wouldn't believe how eager he was to get here." Princess whispered in Summer's ear. "We almost had a fully uniformed Eagle bursting into the Maternity Ward. I was barely able to convince him to stop long enough to de-transmute." Summer giggled, imagining the doctor's reaction if the G-Force Commander had rushed into the room instead of the young man with long hair and a number one t-shirt.

"Now, about that pushing..." the doctor reminded her.

"Of course!" Summer said, Mark rushing to her side. Princess smiled and left the room, giving them as much privacy as she could.

The birth was quick and easy, and within an hour Summer held two infants in her arms, each one eagerly nursing for all it was worth.

"They're both healthy." Mark said, relieved. "I have to admit that I had been worried that at least one of them might have suffered some ill effects from all of that testing and blood sampling the Chief did on you."

"Actually, the Chief said that the high levels of biominiopic particles in my blood from having two babies meant that he needed fewer blood draws than he might have otherwise." Summer said. "So I think that helped."

"Whatever the reason, we now have our own little family." Mark smiled. "What should we name them?"

"I was thinking... how about Sean for this little guy," Summer jiggled the little boy in her right arm, "and Stephanie for this young lady?" She smiled at the little girl in her left arm.

"Sounds perfect to me." Mark agreed. He leaned over and kissed Summer lightly on the lips. "You're perfect. Everything's perfect."

Summer nodded happily.

As always, the G-Force Commander was exactly right.

**The End**


End file.
